


Try to walk now

by Stylin_son



Series: Try to walk now [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Confusion, F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mild Smut, Modest!Mangement, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-19
Updated: 2014-03-07
Packaged: 2017-11-29 20:59:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 26
Words: 21,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/691376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stylin_son/pseuds/Stylin_son
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One Direction doesn't really know who likes who, who straight whose whatever. It all comes together in the end...or so they hope.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It all began with

Harry walked down the street trying hard to hide his limp. The media would be all over him if they saw this. Not like they weren’t always all over him, but he couldn’t have a million questions about how he got his limp. It was embarrassing enough that he had pulled a muscle in his bum; he didn’t need to whole world knowing about it. How he got that pulled muscle was definitely not a bad story. Just not one he wanted to tell the rest of the world.

*6 months ago*

Harry was trying to keep his eyes open, but he was just so tired from preforming that- well, yesterday- morning. Now it was 4 in the morning the next day, and the rest of the boys hadn’t come back yet. Harry figured they were all still out clubbing or whatever, but he wanted them back. Just as his head was dropping onto the pillow, Louis opened the tour bus door and stumbled up the stairs. He fell onto the couch next to Harry, shoving Harry’s legs off the couch. Loui grinned at him.

“Hia Harry,” he said, slurring his words.

“You’re drunk,” Harry observed. His body felt strangely alive wherever Louis touched him.

Loui nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed. “A little bit.” He held his fingers an inch apart.

Harry chuckled. “Well, time to get you into bed, man!” He tried to drag Louis off the couch. “AHMAHGOD YOU’RE HEAVY!”

Louis giggled as he slid the rest of the way off the couch onto the floor. “Aw, Harry, can’t I just sleep here?” He patted the floor, and looked up at Harry with his lower lip jutted out, pleading. Harry looked at him suspiciously. “How much ‘ave you had to drink?” Louis started to count on his fingers. “Uhm…” Louis’s brow furrowed adorably, like he was trying really hard to remember. Harry laughed. “Alright, how bout you just count to ten. Yeah?”

“One, two…four- no, no, it’s uh three-and then five…See? I can count!” Louis nodded empathetically. As tired as he was, Louis could always make him laugh. “Yeah, yeah just get into bed you lug,” Harry said. “C’mon, onto the couch!”

“I can sleep with you?” Louis asked in a small voice, like he was scared Harry might yell at him. Harry’s body was tingling and he was suddenly wide awake. Him? Sleep with Louis?

Harry gulped. He wanted to brush off the feeling that rushed through him, but he couldn’t. It’ll be like sleeping with a friend, he tried to convince himself. He looked down at Louis again. It didn’t help that Louis was looking up at him like a little puppy. A really, very adorable puppy.

“How do people ever win fights with you?” Harry wondered aloud.

“Oh, that’s easy. They don’t!” Louis giggled drunkenly again. Harry shook his head and laughed. “OK, OK you can sleep with me tonight.” Louis clapped his hands and hopped onto the couch. Harry slipped onto the couch next to him.

It wasn’t that big of a couch, so there was no way they wouldn’t be touching. Harry pulled the covers over them. Louis, seeming satisfied that Harry was next to him, fell fast asleep in seconds. Harry wanted to sleep, but his body was alive with a tingling sensation. Harry flipped over onto his side so that he and Louis were face to face, their foreheads and noses touching.

Why does it have to be like this? Harry wondered to himself. Why can’t we just be together? Harry sighed. If Louis even likes you! He reminded himself. He hadn’t told anyone how he felt. He wasn’t even sure how he felt himself. If he wasn’t in a huge, world-wide famous boy band, there might not be a problem. Harry would just go out with whoever he wanted. But in the public eye, you always had to keep whatever you could under-wraps. You couldn’t risk telling someone that you were…gay. Harry wasn’t sure why he was scared to even think it. There was nothing wrong with being gay, and he knew that. He wrestled with the idea of telling the world that he didn’t want to have girlfriends anymore. It scared him.

After another hour of mulling over the idea that he didn’t want a girl, he wanted boys (one in particular) he fell asleep.


	2. That morning when

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if the chapters are super short!! they'll get longer, promise. feedback is always nice! xx

When Harry woke up that morning, the light was streaming into the bus. Harry looked next to him. Louis was gone. Harry’s heart sank. Get yourself together mate! he told himself. He sat him, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Mornin Harry,” someone whispered from behind him. Harry jumped. The voice laughed. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” Louis said. Harry turned around to face him.

“Ah ha ha mate you look a mess!” Harry laughed.

Louis nodded, a cup of coffee clutched close to his chest. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was an absolute mess. Louis winced at the bright sun light as he sat next to Harry, his back up against the arm of the couch.

“Last night’s not so fun this morning is it?” Harry asked, shaking his head and grinning.

“Shh!” Louis said. His brow furrowed as he winced and he squeezed his eyes shut. “No loud noises, please.”

“Oh, right. Sorry,” Harry whispered, leaning towards Louis a little bit. Louis held Harry’s gaze for a couple of moments. Harry liked that way the sun light reflected in Louis’s eyes.

It sounded cheesy, but Harry felt like he really could get lost in Louis’s eyes. Harry bit his lip. Louis stared intently at it, suddenly get this kind of brooding look, like he was mad about something. Harry was going to ask what it was, but at that moment Liam stumbled past them into the little kitchen area.  
Liam groaned. “Remind me to never go partying with Zayn again?” Louis and Harry both laughed.

 

*later that day*

It was almost 6 o’clock in the evening by the time everyone had gotten up, gotten ready, and tried to get over their hangovers. They were doing a radio interview, which was one of Harry’s favorite kinds. You didn’t have to deal with a bunch of people at once, and there was only the occasional photographer.  
As they were all getting out of the car, they were stopped by the usual. A couple fans, one wannabe paparazzi, and one fluffy little puppy that wanted to get with Niall. It was warm inside, and Harry shrugged off his jacket. He turned around to put his jacket on a hanger and caught a glimpse of Louis’s stomach as he took off his sweater and it got stuck on his shirt. Harry tried his hardest not to stare.

Too late. Louis caught him staring, and winked at Harry. Harry looked down at his feet, blushing.

“Alright, you guys ready?” asked the radio producer. The boys nodded. “Let’s get started!” Zayn sprinted into the studio and plopped down in the nearest chair. Liam followed, and then Harry, Louis and Niall was last.

 

*20 minutes into interview*

“Alright, we’ve only got 10 more minutes with you guys, so time to ask the big question: who here has a girlfriend? And if you don’t, who are you crushing on?”

The boys laughed nervously and looked around at each other. “Oh, c’mon,” urged the radio DJ. “No one is dating anyone? I find that hard to believe!” He looked at all of them, pausing on Harry. Please don’t let me look guilty, thought Harry.

“We might, we might not,” said Louis with a shrug of his shoulders. “We just don’t really want to disclose that right now.” The DJ nodded.

“It’s not like we don’t have girlfriends or want one, we just don’t feel the need to let people know,” said Liam. The DJ nodded again, “Fair enough,” he said. “So, anything you want to say to the fans before you guys go?”

“Well, for one thing,” Zayn started, “WE LOVE YOU ALL KAY BYE!” They all joined in. The DJ held up a finger, “And we’re off! Good job you guys, I think people will like it.” They all looked at each other and grinned.

 

*back in the tour bus some time later*

Harry was slouched against Zayn’s legs, sitting on the floor starring up at the TV not really paying attention to what was on. Louis sat down next to him, his head lolling to one side, looking at Harry. Harry glanced over at him. Louis smiled a little before turning his attention to Liam who was attempting to step over him and onto the couch. “Trying to step on me, are we?” He asked jokingly. Louis scooted closer to Harry, so he could avoid getting stepped on. Liam laughed and jumped over Louis, squishing himself between Zayn and Niall.

Harry was very aware of how close Louis was sitting to him. So close, yet so far away. Harry’s eyes started to glaze over, and he started starring off into space, thinking about how close they were sitting to each other. Unfortunately, he ended up starring at Louis. Which wouldn’t have been so bad, but-

“Oi, Harry!” Zayn snapped his fingers in front of Harry’s face. Harry startled. “You gotta crush on Louis or something?” He grinned. Harry blushed, and looked down.

“Aw, look! He’s blushing,” Liam teased.

“I am not!” Harry’s face felt hot. He tried to laugh a little. “I’m just tired, y’know, starring off into space.” Zayn and Liam smirked at each other. Luckily, Niall’s head dropped into Zayn’s lap at that moment, distracting them from Harry for a moment.

“He looks cute when he sleeps,” Louis whispered, poking Niall’s face. Niall grunted and turned his face away from Louis hand. Zayn laughed and put his head back on the couch.

“I’m gonna sleep now. It’s not like we can move him, Niall sleeps like a fucking rock and is heavy like one too. Night,” Zayn said, sleep already entering his voice. “Beddy-bye time!” Liam agreed, hoping up and walking towards his room, closing the door behind him.

Harry tried to push down the feelings of jealousy. Louis thought Niall looked cute when he slept?! ASDFGHJKL; NOT OK was what ran through Harry’s brain. Louis looked at Harry.

“Don’t worry, your terribly cute when you sleep too,” he whispered.

Harry stared at Louis. Had he heard him right? Louis leaned in towards Harry a little. Harry held his breath. Louis reached up and brushed some of Harry’s hair off his face. Harry blinked, trying to figure out where this could be going. Louis leaned in a little more. Now they were barely an inch apart. Harry risked it.

He leaned in. His mouth met Louis’s. Louis leaned back for a moment, and Harry was afraid he’d made the wrong move. But Louis quickly started to kiss Harry back, almost hungrily. Harry liked the way Louis’s lips felt against his. Soft, warm. Louis’s arms encircled Harry’s neck, pulling him closer. Harry ran his fingers through Louis’s hair. He knew they shouldn’t be doing this. Not here, not now. Not when anyone could wake up and see them. But Harry didn’t care. He felt safe in Louis’s arms.  
Louis finally pulled back, taking a deep breath. His eyes glittered. This time, Louis leaned in, and very gently placed a kiss on the corner of Harry’s mouth. Neither of them said anything. They just sat there, arms around each other. Harry felt his eye lids begin to droop, and his head drop onto Louis’s chest.  
As Harry drifted off into sleep, Louis ran his hands through Harry’s hair, and started swaying a little. Harry’s eyes closed even more.

The last thing Harry heard before he drifted off into sleep was Louis whisper, “I love you, Harry,” with his face buried in Harry’s hair.


	3. Chapter 3

*probably around 2 a.m.*

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP BEEP! Harry startled awake. Stupid cars, thought Harry. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“Mmmmm geroffmeh,” someone grumbled from beneath Harry.

Wait. Harry looked down at what he originally thought was the floor. But no, it was Louis. Harry shifted his weight so that he wasn’t leaning on Louis’s chest so heavily. Harry stared at Louis’s sleeping face. Louis was so peaceful when he slept…Harry lightly traced Louis’s features with his finger. His eye brow, his jawline where a 5 o’clock shadow was starting to show, up to his lips. Harry left his fingers there for a minute, feeling Louis’s breath on his fingers. Inhale, exhale. In, out, in and out.

Louis’s eyes fluttered. Harry pulled back his finger, and sat up. Louis moaned in his sleep and pulled Harry close again. Harry rested his head on Louis’s chest, and fell back asleep.

*that morning*

Zayn sauntered into the café, a pretty brunette girl with blue eyes on his arm. He sat down at the table, and the girl sat down next to him, her arm still wrapped around his. Liam and Harry smirked at each other from across the table. Another girl? This would end up well. A barista came up to the table, smiling broadly.

“Hi there,” she said, flipping her hair. “My name is Marlene. Can I get you anything?” Harry liked her hair. It was bright red, and she had a little headband in it. He liked her until she batted her lashes at Louis. Harry scooted closer to Louis, who in turn squeezed Harry’s leg under the table. Harry sat up in his chair, trying to hide what had just popped up because of the leg squeezing.

Zayn, of course, seeming to miss nothing, winked at Harry knowingly. Harry winked back, trying to pass it all off as a joke. Zayn just settled on starring at Liam, totally ignoring the girl. Niall decided it was his turn to get some.

“Um, could I get a coffee?” He asked, smiling up Marlene. She blushed, and looked down at the floor. She scribbled on her pad and nodded. “Anythin’ else?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah…” Harry said, quickly scanning the menu. “Lou you gonna get anything?” Louis nodded, and leaned into Harry to look at the menu. “Do you guys have tacos?” Harry asked. The girl laughed and shook her head. “Sorry Harry, no tacos.” Harry jutted at out lower lip and pretended to pout.

“Could I have just some coffee?” Louis asked, leaning sideways ever so slightly to block Harry from the girls view. “And some toast, please.” The girl nodded, and then tucked her notepad into her pocket. “Comin’ right up!” She sashayed her way back to the counter, looking back just in time to see Niall following her with his eyes all the way. She winked at him.

“Ooh Niall!” Zayn leaned across the table and nudged Niall’s arm. Niall grinned. The girl on Zayn’s arm cleared her throat and sat up a little, clearly fed up with being ignored. “Oh, right! Guys, this is Alice,” he said, wrapping his arm around her. Alice waved at them and smiled. “I met her the other night.”

Harry wasn’t sure if he liked her yet. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something about her. Maybe it was the way she held herself, almost like she was better than them. She seemed just too perfect. But, then again, he wanted his mate to be happy. So if Zayn found what he wanted, that was cool with Harry. Before Harry could continue to watch this girl, Alice, more in depth, her phone rang.

“Oh, I’ve got to take this. Sorry!” She got up, and leaned down to kiss Zayn on the cheek. “Hello?” she answered the phone as she walked away. Zayn waved at her. She didn’t seem to notice.

“Well she was nice,” said Liam. Zayn rolled his eyes and slouched back down in the chair.

“Here ya go!” Marlene had come back with their coffee. They accepted the coffee with thanks, and were all sitting there starring at each other when they noticed that Marlene was still standing there. She was swaying from side to side, like she was nervous.

“Um, you guys must get this a lot, but…could I? I mean, could-“ she couldn’t seem to form words. Niall laughed a little and looked up at her. “Could you get our autographs?” She nodded. “Sure thing darlin’” he said. He reached into her pocket and pulled out the pen and notepad. The girl looked like she was going to faint. Niall scribbled his name, as did the rest of the boys. Marlene stammered her thanks, and then walked back to the counter. Harry heard a squeal. They all turned in their seats to see Marlene standing at the counter with her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.

“What did you write Niall?” Zayn asked. Niall shrugged, and smiled slyly. “You didn’t!” Zayn laughed.

“Didn’t do what?” Liam asked. Zayn shook his head and chuckled. “Aw, c’mon!” Liam leaned across the table and grabbed Zayn’s arm. “Please?” Liam attempted his best puppy face. Zayn leaned over the table-which, mind you, wasn’t that big to begin with-and placed his face inches from Liam’s. They starred at each other. “He gave her his number,” Zayn whispered.

Liam sat up and starred at Niall. Then he started to laugh. “Nice work Niall!” They both grinned at each other. Zayn stayed leaned over the table, and held onto Liam’s arm.

Harry felt Louis snake his hand down and squeeze Harry’s. They smiled at each other. Harry’s phone rang. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. “It’s Management,” he said. The boys grumbled, not wanting to know what was in store for them next.

“Hello?” Harry mumbled into the phone.

“Hia Harry! We need you and the boys to come down to the studio so we can get some shots of you in your “natural habitat” or something,” said Management through the phone rather loudly. Harry wondered if this particular part of Management (Molly) had been taking too many of her…shall we say, happy pills.

Harry nodded, running his hand through his hair, “Yeah, we’ll be there,” he sighed.

“Great! We’ll you soon!” Harry signed off.

“Don’t tell me, Molly wants us to come down?” Liam asked, looking like he’d just swallowed something sour. Harry nodded. Zayn rolled his eyes and handed Niall the bill. “I think you can get this one, don’t you boys?” He said. They all nodded, smug smiles on their faces.

“Fine, I’ll git it!” Niall said, pretending to be upset. He smacked Zayn with the back of his hand as he got up and headed to the counter to pay. 


	4. The Camera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which my best friend makes an appearance because of reasons

*in the studio*

“Alright, Zayn, lean into Liam- yeah, yeah like that! That’s boys,” shouted the photographer. “Smolder for me. Can do that? Ooh yes I love it Harry!” The photographer was an excitable man with a hint of gold guy liner on his bottom lid. Like most of the crew he was dressed in all black, but he had a blue and grey scarf wrapped around his neck.

“I just want to strangle him,” Zayn muttered. Harry stifled a laugh. The photographer had Zayn with his head thrown back, hips forward. He looked a little ridiculous.

“Alright, take 10 everybody!” Someone called out from the back of the room. The boys relaxed out of the silly poses they had been in and collapsed in a heap, one on top of the other. Harry plopped his head down on Niall’s stomach, and swung his legs over Liam’s back. Zayn crawled over and lay across Harry, his head on Louis’s stomach, and Louis’s head on Harry’s chest.

“See, this is how they should have you take the pictures,” said a voice somewhere above them. They all twisted a little so they could see who it was. It was one of the crew members, though not one Harry recognized.

Harry guessed she was what you would call a simple beauty. Her shiny blond hair was up in a bun with a small bow holding it in place, and she was dressed in a black dress with black converse shoes. Her eyes were bright blue/green, framed by her blue glasses.

“Hi there…August,” he said, taking a second to read her name tag. She smiled. “Hi there,” she looked down at her feet. “Um, would you guys mind if…I mean, I know you’re on break and all but could I get a picture of you guys like this?” She looked down at them, and pulled at a camera from behind her back.

“Sure you can,” Liam said kindly. “Smile boys!” _Click._

August looked at the screen of the camera and smiled, seemingly satisfied with what she got. “Thanks so much,” she said, smile still plastered to her face. The boys nodded, and then August waved and starting wandering away towards the vending machine.

“Alright, let’s get a couple more shots in and then you boys can go!” Called the photographer. “Now remember, we don’t want this to seem posed. Just be yourselves.”

“I’d love that, only I normally _don’t_ jam my hips up against Harry or Niall,” Zayn said, this time not bothering not to lower his voice. The photographer didn’t seem to notice, but August did. She was clearly trying not laugh, for her shoulders were shaking and she was gnawing on her bottom lip. She mouthed _I got you_ , and winked.

“Hey, um, Emilio,” she said, walking towards the photographer. He looked up. “Oh not now, we’ve got to work to!” he said with a wave of his hand.

She tried again. “Look at this, doesn’t this seem more realistic?” she shoved her camera in Emilio’s face, refusing no as an answer. The photograph took a step back, and looked at the camera. “Hmm…” he contemplated the photo she had taken of the boys in a jumble.

“This could work,” he said slowly. He looked at the picture a moment longer. “Y’know what, I love it! The lighting needs to change but-oh, it’s just wonderful!” he said, shoving the camera back at August. He clapped his hands and starting giving directions to the other crew members. Zayn shot August the thumbs up, along with a heart. She shrugged her shoulders and made the heart with her hands. She mouthed _back at you._

The rest of the shoot was better. There were no more stupid poses, and no “smoldering”. They just fooled around on the set while having their pictures taken. At one point, Liam attempted to jump over Louis, and they ended up slamming into Harry, who then hit Zayn. They fell onto the floor, once again a jumble of arms and legs. Niall peered down at them from his perch on the couch. For a second everyone just starred at each other, and then Zayn giggled. After that they just didn’t stop laughing, so finally the shoot was called to an end. 


	5. Tacos

*hotel room*

“Can we _please_ get tacos?” Harry begged. “I haven’t had a taco in ages!”

“Harry, you had a taco, like, yesterday,” Liam pointed out.

“Did I?” Harry stopped to think for a second. “Maybe I did…But that’s not the point!” He exclaimed, throwing a pillow across the room.

“Aw, is little Harry throwing a little tantrum?” Louis teased, poking Harry in the face with his finger. Harry swatted it away, and turned to frown at Louis. “Don’t worry, ickle Harry, we’ll get you a taco,” he cooed. “But not today we won’t!” he yelled before tackling Harry back onto the bed and assaulting him with pillows.

 “Oi, somebody help me!” Harry cried. “I’m being abused!”

“Oh, shut up Harry,” Lou said with a grin. He bent down so that they were inches apart and whispered, “You know you love this.” He sat back up and looked around the room. “Let the tickling commence!”

Harry thrashed about on the bed, laughing so hard he thought that he was going to die from lack of air. “Stop it stop it!” he begged, but Louis and Zayn would reply with “NEVER!” Finally someone called, and asked them to keep it down.

Zayn eyed Harry with an evil grin, “We’ll get you yet, my sweet!” he attempted to cackle. Harry gasped for breath and tried not to laugh. This proved to be impossible.

“What was all that noise?” Niall asked as he walked out the bathroom, steam floating out behind him. “Were you four attempting a sex tape or something?”

“Yeah, but Harry was no good so it was just me and Liam in the end,” Zayn said, wrapping his arm around Liam’s waist. Liam tried to wrestle out of Zayn’s grip, but only managed to fall of the bed and drag Zayn with him. Harry leaned over the side of the bed. “Hey! I thought we agreed not to do it on the floor anymore,” he said sarcastically. Liam and Zayn looked at each other, and then Harry.

“Well, rules can change can’t they?” Liam whispered, seductively wrapping his leg around Zayn’s thigh. Harry laughed and pulled himself upright to face Niall.

Niall just shook his head and threw on his sweat pants before climbing into the next bed. “What’s for dinner?” he asked, pulling the covers up to his face.

“I want tacos!” Harry said.

“I thought we taught you a lesson Harry, no tacos tonight!” Louis exclaimed, hitting Harry with a pillow jokingly. “Don’t make us torture you again,” he threatened.

Harry pretended to be petrified. “Please, don’t hurt me!” he squealed, throwing his hands up in the air.

“He’s totally asking for it!” Zayn said, pulling himself up from off the floor. Lou nodded. “That he is…should we maybe reteach him the lesson of what happens when you make everybody eat tacos twice in a week?” Louis said raising an eyebrow.

“No no no OK I’m sorry! No tacos tonight,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender. Louis smirked and winked at Harry.

“Good,” he said, turning his attention back to Zayn.

“No but really, WHAT ARE WE EATING FOR DINNER?!” Niall exclaimed.

“So impatient!” Liam scoffed. “My, my, maybe we should just eat Niall.”

“At least it’d shut him up,” Zayn agreed with a shrug, along with a smirk in Niall’s direction.

“Hey!” The blonde boy said, sitting up in bed to throw a pillow Zayn’s way.

Zayn ducked just as the pillow sailed past his head, and then leaped the gap between the two beds and tackled Niall. “I think we need to teach Niall a lesson too, don’t you?” Zayn giggled before he mercilessly began tickling Niall. The boy underneath Zayn shrieked with laughter and several unsuccessful times to get Zayn off him. Finally, Liam got up and went over to the two boys, and shoved them apart. Zayn looked at Liam a little bewildered.

“Couldn’t have you harmin’ our dinner before we ate it, now could we?” Liam said with a small smile to Niall. Zayn just nodded, still looking a little confused.

“Oh don’t look like that!” Liam sighed. “C’mere, you tosser.” With that Liam leaned over smacked a kiss on Zayn’s cheek before turning his attention back to Lou and Harry. “How about some sushi?” He suggested, steering the conversation back towards the menu.

“Potatoes,” Niall said rather breathlessly from somewhere within the depths of the bed. Liam chuckled and looked back to try to see Niall. “Nialler, where’d you go?” He teased.

“I’m hiding from the infamous tickler Zayn,” Niall whispered, trying to be mysterious.

Zayn threw his head back and laughed. Harry laughed and flipped his hair. He turned his attention to Louis. “Sushi?” He asked tentatively. Louis nodded and leaned over to bury his face in Harry’s curls. Harry heard Louis breath in deeply, inhaling the scent of Harry’s hair. Louis sighed contentedly.

 Harry noticed the room was suddenly rather quiet. He shifted his gaze slightly, and noticed that the three boys on the other side of the room were looking at them and grinning.

“Oh, shut it you three!” Harry muttered, wrapping his arms around Louis pulling him closer to him.

“We didn’t even,” Liam started to stutter, but Zayn just laughed and shoved Liam on top of Niall yelling, “DOG PILE!” Niall and Liam groan as Zayn flung himself on top of them. Harry felt Lou laugh silently. He smiled to himself, and unwrapped one arm from Lou’s waist so he could grab the phone from the bedside table.

“Hey, let’s stop the kinkiness over there and decide what we want!” Harry called to this other boys. 


	6. Sad attempt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my sad attempt at smut

*after ordering and eating*

“Ugh, if I ever eat again it’ll be too soon,” Liam complained as he stretched out across one of the beds. Niall groaned in response, flopping down next to Liam.

“God, if Niall agrees you guys really must have eaten too much!” Harry teased. “Niall is _never_ really full.” Niall just groaned again and curled up next to Liam, throwing his arm around the brunette’s waist.

The boys had ordered a lot of sushi, but Liam and Niall had an absolute pig-out. Harry had to admit, it was some of the best sushi he had had in a while. Zayn walked out of the bathroom with someone’s boxers on the tip of his finger. “This anyone’s?” He asked, holding the piece of clothing as far away from him as possible. When he got a shake of the head from Harry and Lou, he looked at the two boys already in bed. He got no response what so ever from the other two, so he simply dropped it on the floor before climbing into bed beside Niall.

“Move over,” he grunted, pulling up the covers over himself and the other two. Liam grumbled something and dragged Niall over so that he was now pressing right up against him. “Night,” Zayn mumbled to Harry, his face already planted on the pillow.

“Night,” Harry whispered.

He turned to look at Louis, and was surprised to find that he was still awake. Louis looked over at the other boys, and then back at Harry. He made little grabbing motions with his hands in the air. Harry swallowed. Louis wanted him to lay down with him? Harry’s tongue darted out and licked his dry lips. He nodded, and slowly lowered himself next to the other boy.

He felt Louis move as if to wrap his arms around Harry, but stopped as if having second thoughts. Harry smiled to himself and turned over on his side so that he and Lou were now face to face. He wrapped his arms around Louis’s waist, dragging him still closer. Louis bit his lip, and he let his gaze settle on Harry’s lips.

Their faces were only a couple inches apart now, and all Harry wanted to do was close that gap. He wanted to feel Louis’s warm lips pressed to his. He wanted to feel the way Louis had urgently kissed him that night they had first kissed.

Harry’s breath hitched as Louis dragged his hand down to Harry’s waist and began making small circles on his lower back. Harry tried to suppress the moan that started to rise up in his throat. Louis grinned as he sensed that Harry’s pants were becoming a little tight. Harry blushed a little, and ducked his head so that it rested under Louis’s chin. Louis chuckled, and cupped his hand under the curly haired boys chin, bringing them face to face once again.

“Hazza,” he breathed before he could stop himself. Where had the nickname come from? It had slipped out just like he been calling Harry that forever.

“Yes, boo bear?” Harry questioned, smiling shyly.

“Boo bear? I like it,” Louis said with an affirmative nod.

“Good, ‘cause I like Hazza,” Harry said, nuzzling Louis’s nose.

Louis smiled and gave Harry a gentle kiss on his jawline. A moan slipped out of Harry’s mouth. Louis took this as a sign to continue. He placed little butterfly kisses down Harry’s neck, stopping at his collarbone to give him a love bite. Harry’s hips pressed hard against the other boys, looking for friction to satisfy his need as he grew harder.

Louis started grinding on Harry, when all of a sudden his view was different. He was now looking up at Harry. Louis felt his breath catch in his throat. Harry looked like an absolute sex-god from his position over Louis. 

“You’re gorgeous,” he whispered.

Harry’s cheeks filled with color, and he smiled sheepishly. “So are you,” he replied.

Before Louis could say or do anything else, Harry’s lips came crashing down on his again. Louis smiled through the kiss, and then continued to deepen the kiss. Harry broke off the kiss for a moment to remove his shirt. Louis ran his hands over Harry’s pale chest, smirking at the four nipples. Harry swatted his hands away, looking self-conscience.

Louis grabbed Harry’s waist and flipped them, so now he was on top. He made a trail of kisses down Harry’s chest, stopping at the waist band of his pants. Harry gasped, and grabbed a handful of Lou’s hair. Louis unbuttoned Harry’s pants with his teeth, and gently cupped Harry through his boxers. Harry moaned, and he pushed Louis’s face a little closer to his waist.

“Mmm, no need to be so impatient Hazza,” Louis teased. “I’ll get there soon enough.”

“Looooouiiii!” Harry groaned.

Just as Louis was about to grant Harry’s wishes, they heard someone from the other bed groan in their sleep. Both boys froze, and looked over. Niall’s face was scrunched up, and his lids fluttered. After a tense moment, he turned over and buried his face in Liam’s chest.

Harry let out a shaky sigh. Louis searched his face, trying to guess what he was thinking. Harry looked worried, relived, and something else. Louis couldn’t put his finger on it. Harry turned his gaze to Louis’s face. There was also something about the way Harry looked at him. Awe, maybe? Almost like he couldn’t believe he had Louis’s attention.

“What?” Harry asked.

Louis realized he had been starring. He shook his head, trying to clear it. “Nothing. Just admiring this beautiful young lad beneath me,” he said smiling.

Harry smiled. “So…how do you feel about continuing?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, his voice dropping a couple octaves.

“It’d be a pleasure,” Louis said with a wink.


	7. Uh oh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> things get a little tense

The sun was steadily streaming in through the windows when Harry awoke. He sleepily rubbed his eyes, and looked around. His and Louis’s cloths were strewn around the room. Shirts on the floor, and- were those Harry’s boxers on the lamp?!

He laughed quietly to himself. The other boys were going to be super happy when they saw this.

“Wha’s so funny?” Louis mumbled.

“Nothing,” Harry said, brushing Louis’s hair back from his face to give him a good morning kiss on his temple. “Just admiring how far you were able to chuck your trousers.”

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Louis agreed. “How far did I get them?” He wondered, turning in Harry’s arm to search for his missing pants.

“I think they’re over there by Zayn’s head,” Harry pointed.

“Oh god,” Louis groaned. “He’s gonna be really happy when he sees that.”

“Ha ha, yeah, he might be a little, uh…” Harry searched for words.

“Upset? Creeped out?” Louis suggested.

 “He’ll get over it eventually,” Harry said, rolling his eyes.

“Should we clean up or leave them to figure out when happened?” Louis asked, tilting his head to look up at Harry, an evil smirk on his face.

“It would be kind of funny to see their faces…” Harry said slowly. “Maybe I should hide my boxers though. We don’t want to creep them out _too_ much.” Louis nodded.

“Yeah, ‘cause waking up with pants on your head isn’t creepy.”

Harry and Louis sat fully up in bed, and looked across the room to see who had spoken.

“Ah, Liam!” Harry called across the two beds. “Good to know you’re up,” he said with a cheeky grin.

“Mhmm,” Liam mumbled. He ran a hand through his hair. He looked at the two boys that were still curled up against his sides. “Have they been like this the whole time?” He wondered aloud.

“Yeah,” Harry nodded. “Y’know,” he said, a smirk creeping onto his face. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that they were very -uh- attached you, Li.” He wiggled eyebrows for extra affect.

“Oh shut up you tosser,” Liam groaned.

“Be nice!” Louis chided, gently hitting Harry’s stomach. Harry just laughed and placed a kiss on the top of Louis’s head. He glanced at Liam. The boy just smiled at them and turned his attention to the other two slumbering boys next to him.  

“Look at Niall,” Liam murmured. “He looks like a baby leprechaun!” He chuckled, and turned his attention to Zayn. “And Zayn looks so…” Liam’s voice trailed off.

Harry had to stop and wonder about Liam’s relationship with the other boys. The way he looked at them was almost like the way Louis looked at Harry often before they had plunged head-first into…this. Whatever this was. But maybe Harry was just reading into it. He was probably just in love the way best friends are in love. Harry loved all the boys, but not _love_ loved. Just in the sense he would do anything for them and protect them, but not like he would marry them.

Harry’s mind wandered back to the thought about what he and Louis had. He’d known Louis for about a year now, and he had always kind of liked Louis more than the others. He had sometimes suspected Louis might have feelings for him. There was something to the way Louis wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist, or would rub Harry’s cheeks and mess with his hair. But Harry had just brushed it off as two close mates joking around.

 So were they just friends with benefits or were they something more? Would Louis even want to be something more? Harry was pretty sure that Louis would, but he was scared to ask. He didn’t want to seem clingy or attached if that wasn’t what Lou wanted.

Little did Harry know, but Louis was thinking the same thing. Would Harry be interested in them being more? Or was he just looking to take whatever sexual tension he had out on Louis? Lou desperately wanted to believe the first one, but he still wasn’t sure. But then again, Harry had blushed when Louis had called him gorgeous. And he had said the same thing to Louis…Louis had to think this over. He wished he could ask someone about it. He usually just went to one of the other boys, and Liam now knew what he and Harry had done last night, but maybe Liam just thought that the boys had gotten bored and decided it would be fun to try?

Louis shook his head, trying to clear it. All he had to do was wait and see if Harry would want to do it again. If he did, all Louis had to do was ask Harry what he wanted. How hard could it be? Louis got butterflies in his stomach just thinking about. What if Harry said no?!

“Hey,” Harry poked Louis’s face with his pointer finger, breaking Louis’s train of thought. “Are you all right?” He asked, looking concerned.

“Yeah,” Louis nodded. “I’m OK.” He tried to plaster on a fake smile.

“Oh,” Harry visibly relaxed. “You looked a little worried for a second.” Harry ran his finger up and down Louis’s arm lightly. Louis shivered. “Y’know,” Harry whispered, his voice suddenly right next to Lou’s ear. “You do look rather adorable when you’re worried.”

Louis flinched, not expecting Harry to be so close. He hoped Harry didn’t notice. But of course, he did. Hurt flashed across Harry’s face, but just as soon as it was there, it was gone.

“Alright,” Harry said, suddenly business like. “Let’s get this mess cleaned up!” He jumped out of bed, and started putting cloths in a large pile. “This,” he held a shirt up to his nose. “Ugh this goes in the wash.” He decided, wrinkling his nose. He tossed a different shirt onto the bed. “That’s yours,” he said carelessly.

Harry tried to mask his hurt by pretending to be indifferent. Why had Louis flinched? Had he not wanted Harry to be that close, or was he just surprised? Harry was pretty sure he had never been with another boy before, so maybe he was just nervous? Harry felt a lump rising in throat. Oh no, he would not cry. No he couldn’t cry now, not in front of Louis. Harry snuck a glance at Louis. He saw that the boy was sitting on the bed, staring at Harry. When he caught Harry staring at him he quickly glanced away, a light pink creeping up onto his cheeks.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Harry announced loudly.

He grabbed a towel and stalked off to the bathroom before anyone said anything.

He shut the door and turned on the water. Harry walked over to the sink and splashed some cold water on his face, trying to clear his head. He shook his head. What was it about Louis that drove him crazy? Harry had never felt this way before; this kind of buzzing and warm fuzziness he felt whenever he thought of his Louis…Lou, his boo-bear.

With the shower steaming, Harry jumped in and let the scolding water run over his body. He washed his hair and scrubbed his body, not realizing until after that he had used Louis’s soap instead of his own. Harry sighed and got out of the shower. Maybe using Louis’s soap was a sign? Harry laughed a loud at his wishful thinking.

He wrapped a towel around his waist, then opened the door and walked out of the bathroom. Harry looked around, surprised to see that Niall and Liam had already left.

“Where’d Liam and Niall go?” Harry asked, unzipping his suitcase and pulling out a clean outfit.

“They went downstairs to get breakfast,” Zayn said, clearly still half asleep. He rubbed his eyes. “Imma go get some coffee. You guys want some?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, thanks mate.”

“Would you get tea for me?” Louis asked, ruffling his hair in the mirror.

“You and tea, my god,” Zayn snorted. “But yeah I’ll get tea.”

 Harry pulled the shirt over his head. He heard the door click as Zayn left. Louis cleared his throat, and the bed squeaked as he sat back down on it. Both boys pondered what to do next. Harry slipped his trousers on, and glanced back at Louis. The other boy was watching him. Harry grabbed a sweatshirt and tugged it over his head, trying to stall a little. When there was nothing left to put on his body, he turned around as faced Louis.

He noticed a little bit of color creeping into the other boys face. Harry smiled a little.

“You going to get some food?” Harry asked, trying to keep the conversation neutral.

“I dunno,” Louis shrugged. “I’m not that hungry, to be honest.”

“No?” Harry cocked his head.

Louis just shrugged again, avoiding Harry’s gaze. “But you go on down, maybe I’ll join you guys later.” Louis said, getting up and walking over to the window.

“Anyone out there?” Harry asked as he walked towards the door.

“No, not yet,” Louis pulled back the curtains. “Wait, hold on a sec.” Harry froze. “I think…is she trying to get in?” Harry relaxed. Louis hadn’t been talking to him after all. He turned around.

“Who’s trying to get in where?”

“Some girl is trying to break into the lobby!”

“Oh my god,” Harry chuckled. “What’re we going to do with these fans?!”

Louis turned around and smiled. “They really do love us, don’t they?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, I’d say they do.”

“It’s weird,” Louis murmured, turning back to the window. “I never would have imagined myself in this position. I mean, who knew we would end like this? Together?”

“Crazy,” Harry agreed. He walked over to the window, and waved at the growing sea of people. The screaming grew louder down below. Harry chuckled. “My god, they’re loud!” He turned away from the window.

“Harry?”

“Hmm?” Harry turned back around, casting his eyes down to the floor. Louis walked over and sat on the bed.

“C’mere,” he patted the bed. Harry’s heart jumped into his throat. He glanced up at Louis. Louis looked a little pink. So he wasn’t the only nervous one. Harry sat at the edge of the bed, fingering the duvet.

“I, um,” Louis stuttered. “I just-“ he took a deep breath. “I was just wondering…” Harry glanced up at him. “What is this? I mean, what, are we?” Harry’s head snapped up all the way and he stared at Louis.

“Never mind,” Louis quickly said, getting up and walking towards the door.

Harry starred after him, wanting desperately to call him back. Louis was at the door when Harry finally got the words together.

“Wait,” he whispered. What was wrong with him? He had done with a 31 year old, why couldn’t he talk to his best friend? Why did Louis have such _power_ over him?!

Louis turned around, not meeting Harry’s eyes. “Wait,” Harry said a little louder. “Don’t leave. I just was, I can’t…”Harry trailed off. What was he planning to say?

“It’s OK Harry, I get it. Really, it’s OK you don’t need to explain,” Louis said sadly.

“What? No,” Harry practically yelled, suddenly understanding what Louis was saying. “No that’s not what I meant!” On impulse, he jumped off the bed and ran to Louis, blocking the door with his body. “You’re not leaving just yet,” Harry growled. Louis’s eyes widened.

“I’m listening.”

Harry relaxed his stance in front of the door a little bit. Harry tousled his hair, and bit his lip. “I just want…I just want us to be whatever you want us to be.” He glanced shyly up at Louis.

“You’re really fucking adorable, you know that right?” Louis whispered.

Harry smiled broadly. “I know right!” Harry did a fake seductive stare, and flipped his hair.

“Oh shut up, you cocky little tosser,” Louis laughed. He pushed Harry against the door and placed a quick kiss on Harry’s lips. The curly haired boy smiled and wrapped his arms around Louis’s neck.

“Together?” Louis whispered.

“Always,” Harry replied. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright so this is the end of the Larry perspective. Ziam/Niam begins next chapter! xx


	8. ZNiam begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam doesn't really know who he wants or what he's doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this may or may not change perspectives through out. sorry bout that!

Zayn piled food onto his plate, and headed back to their table. Niall had two plates in front of him, and stuffing his face with everything and anything. Zayn chuckled.

“Hungry much, Nialler?” He asked sarcastically.

“Sud up,” Niall mumbled around the food in his mouth.

“Niall,” Liam chided. “At least try not to talk with food in your mouth!”

Niall shrugged and waved a spoon at Liam. “You wan won?”

Liam frowned and shoved the spoon away. Niall grinned.

“Scoot over,” Zayn said, tapping Liam with his hip.

He slipped into the booth next to Liam, and started tearing at his food. “So,” Liam started. “Last night seemed to have been…” he paused, seeming to choose his words carefully. “An interesting turn of events.” Zayn nodded. Niall looked confused.

“What happened?” Niall asked, totally bewildered.

“You don’t remember?” Zayn laughed.

Niall shook his head. “I mean, I remember Harry and Lou were, like, all over each other and then I fell asleep.” He stopped to think. “Also, Zayn, you make a lot of noise when you sleep.” He said, furrowing his brow. “You woke me up!”

Zayn cocked his head. “Really? Did I wake you up, Li?” He turned to the other boy.

“Not that I remember, no,” Liam said, shaking his head.

“Yeah, you were like moaning and stuff!” Niall started imitating what he had heard.

“Oh my god, Niall!” Liam exclaimed. “It sounds like you’re making sex noises, stop it!”

Zayn fell on Liam’s shoulder, doubled over in a fit of giggles. When he finally regained control of himself, he sat up and tried to be serious.

“OK, if I tell you guys something, you promise not to tell?” The two boys nodded, glancing at each other. Zayn bit his lip, considering what he was about to do. But he could trust Liam and Niall. If he couldn’t trust them, who could he trust?

“Alright, Niall, those noises you heard definitely weren’t me. I think Lou and Harry are sort of, well, together?” He left the last part a question.

“Really?!” Niall’s mouth was wide open in shock.

“Shh!” Zayn placed his hand over Niall’s mouth.

“I’m not too surprised,” Liam mused. “I mean, they have been kind of touchy-feely lately. Also, I’m pretty sure I was saw them kiss each other on the forehead a couple times this morning.  But what makes you think they’re together?” He turned to Zayn.

“Well, not many best mates have sex, now do they?” Zayn sarcastically snipped.

“No need to be rude,” Niall grumbled from across the table.

“Sorry,” Zayn looked at his lap. “I didn’t get my coffee yet.”

“There’s only one way to get back in my good graces,” Liam said aloofly, his nose in the air.

“Oh yeah?” Zayn raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Liam said in the same airy tone. “You, Zayn Malik, must buy me coffee for the rest of the week!” Zayn laughed.

“You got it, princess.” He swung his arms around Liam’s shoulders, bringing him in for a crushing hug.

“Hey!” Liam protested.

“I wanna hug,” Niall fake pouted.

 “Well then get over here!” Liam chuckled, swinging an arm across the table and pulling Niall in so that all the boys were cheek to cheek.

“Mwah!” Zayn playfully kissed Liam on the cheek. Liam smiled and playfully ruffled Zayn’s hair affectionately. “Coffee?” Zayn asked.

“Yes, please!” Niall said, hoping up.

*back in the room with coffee*

Zayn pushed open the door and propped it open with his foot. He paused to steady the drinks in his hands before continuing in. He looked up just as Louis and Harry sprang apart, and tried to tidy themselves up. Apparently the other boys had walked in on a snogging session.

“Interrupting something?” Zayn winked.

“No, no,” Harry said rather hurriedly. “Um, Lou and I were just, erhm.”

“Well whatever it was,” Liam intervened, saving Harry. “We got you coffee.”  

“Oh, great,” Harry smiled, reaching for his cup.

The boys spread out around the room drinking their coffee (or, in Louis’s case, tea). There were a couple of minutes of silence. Zayn wondered if he should tell Harry and Louis that he had told the other boys what he thought. Would Harry and Louis be mad? Zayn gulped. What if they weren’t even _together_? He looked up and saw Liam staring at him. Liam smiled shyly.

“So,” Niall said, breaking the silence. “What’re we going to do today?”

“I dunno,” Harry said. “We should do something fun!” He bounced on the bed a little bit.

“Can we go and meet some of the fans?” Liam asked. “I mean, some of them have been out there all night and all day. The least we could do is sign a piece of paper or whatever.”

“True,” Zayn agreed. “We should go and say hi for a little bit.”

“What about management?” Louis questioned. “Don’t we need security or whatever?”

“Lou,” Harry said, turning to the boy. “They’re a bunch of fans, not psycho CIA trained killers.”

“You never know!” Louis said, throwing his hands up in the air. “But whatever, screw management.”

“That’s the spirit!” Harry cried, jumping off the bed. “Let’s go make some gorgeous fans day.” 


	9. Fans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall gets hungry

Harry and Niall sprinted down the stairs, into the lobby, and out the doors to go say hello. Zayn and the other two boys followed a little slower. The noise level was insane. Zayn had never heard people scream this loud. Ever.

“Zayn! Over here!” One girl called. Zayn smiled at her, and walked over.

“Morning love,” he said.

“Hi!” The girl smiled broadly. “Could I have a picture?”

“Of course!” He gently wrapped his arm around the girls waist, and smiled.

“Thank you so much!” She gushed. “You guys really mean so much to me.”

Zayn smiled at that. “Have a good day!” He said, moving onto the next group of people.

It always amazed Zayn that even though there were probably only about 50 or 100 people here, they made a lot of noise. But everyone he met that day was really friendly, and very conscience of the boys personal space. He adored every single fan he met.

He searched for Liam. Zayn saw Liam and another girl deep in conversation, both gesturing wildly. Zayn smiled. Liam was absolutely the best part. Of everything, really. His day, his life, his career. Niall was probably the second best. Or was it the other way around? Zayn shook his head.

Zayn walked up behind Liam and rested his chin on Liam’s shoulder. The girl smiled at Zayn, but continued to talk to Liam. Zayn tried to understand what they were talking about.

“…I mean, if it weren’t for Andy, would Woody really be Woody? Or would he be a different person?” The girl was saying.

Zayn rolled his eyes. “Toy Story, really Liam?” He whispered in the boy’s ear.

“Yes, really,” Liam replied, craning his head so that his lips brushed Zayn’s nose.

Zayn smiled and buried his face into Liam’s back. He could feel Liam’s voice rumbling through his back. Zayn loved that feeling. He felt a lot better whenever Liam was around. There was something about the way Liam was always clear-headed, whereas Zayn was more impulsive. Liam got him to slow down and rethink things through.

The girl finally thanked Liam for talking to her and things like that, said good bye, and was on her way.

“I think that’s the longest you have ever talked to anyone, in the history of ever,” Zayn announced.

“Mhm,” Liam rolled his eyes.

Niall wandered over to the two boys. “Have either of you seen Harry or Lou?” He asked. Liam and Zayn exchanged a look.

“Should we go and check on them?” Zayn asked.

“No,” Liam tugged on Zayn’s arm, dragging him away from the hotel.

“Yeah, can we not?” Niall agreed. “It’s bad enough I heard them, I don’t want to see them!” Zayn laughed.

“OK, fine. Let’s not, but can we go do something?” He asked.

“Food?”

“Niall, you ate like an hour ago,” Liam said.

“So? I’m hungry!” Niall exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Zayn ruffled Niall’s hair. “He’s a growing chap, he needs his food!” He teased.

Niall swatted Zayn’s hand away, but smiled and started off down the street. Liam linked his arm with Zayn’s, and together they followed Niall down the street. 


	10. Uh, who's that?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they're in a pub and it gets interesting

Niall ended up bringing them to a small little pub. Even though it was only 1 and the pub had just opened, the boys ordered burgers and sat down for lunch.

“Should we call Harry and Lou, to tell them where we went?” Liam looked concerned.

“Nah,” Zayn shook his head. “I don’t think they’d like being interrupted.”

“I’m serious,” Liam said, slapping Zayn’s shoulder. “What if they worry?”

“If they worry, they’ll call!” Liam couldn’t seem to find a way through Zayn’s solution. He tucked his phone back in his pocket. “Can we please talk about this though?”

“Talk about what?” Niall asked.

“About Harry and Lou?” Liam lowered his voice. The pub had gathered a couple of people now, so they didn’t have to whisper, but better to be on the safe sorry.

“What about them?” Zayn sipped his drink, watching both boys.

“Well, I mean, do you think they’ll tell us? I mean, do we even know they’re together?” Liam raised his eyebrow.

“We don’t,” Zayn shook his head. “We won’t until they tell us either or. But for now, let’s just assume they are. What’s your point?”

“Well,” Liam stared at his hands. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter.”

“No, tell us.” Niall reached over the booth and put his hand on Liam’s arm. Liam looked up at Niall from beneath his lashes. Zayn felt his ears grow hot. That was _his_ Liam. But then again, Niall didn’t know that. Zayn rested his head on Liam’s shoulder.

“You can tell us,” he murmured.

“No really, it’s nothing,” Liam shook his head. “I’m sorry I brought it up.”

“It’s OK. You know you can tell everything, though. Right, Liam?” Niall asked, still seeming concerned for Liam.

“Of course,” Liam smiled. “Really it was nothing you guys, just a stupid thought!” He squeezed Niall’s hand, and poked Zayn’s cheek.

Zayn poked Liam’s lip. Liam smiled shyly. He poked Zayn’s collarbone. Zayn poked his stomach. Soon it was a full on poke-war. Both boys were giggling, and Liam currently had Zayn pressed up against the side of the booth.  

Liam poked Zayn rather close to his lips. Zayn caught Liam’s finger with his teeth. He heard Liam’s breath catch. Zayn laughed and waggled his eyebrows. Liam chuckled and tugged on his finger. Zayn let go.

“Your finger tastes funny,” he stated.

“Does it?” Liam asked, smiling. “If you don’t like how it tastes, don’t bite it!”

“Oh, but c’mon,” Zayn tilted his head. “Who wouldn’t want to bite you?” He winked. Liam blushed and looked down at the table. Zayn laughed and gave Liam a playful shove. Niall cleared his throat. Both boys looked up, having momentarily about the blond.

“You guys done?” Niall asked.

“Hmm, that depends.” Zayn looked at Liam with a mischievous grin.

“I dunno Zayn,” Liam returned the mischievous look. “Are we done?” Zayn wrapped his arm around Liam and ran his hand under Liam’s chin.

“No, I don’t think we are,” he whispered.

“Oh my god,” Niall slapped his hand to his face. “How about no?” He reached in between the two boys and tried to push them apart. Zayn laughed and pulled Liam closer. Niall frowned but leaned back in his seat.

“Aw, Niall,” Liam reached across the table for Niall’s hand.

“Baby Niall feels neglected?” Zayn teased.

“Nuh uh!” Niall protested.

Liam took Niall’s hand in his and smiled. Zayn latched onto Niall’s arm, and gave him a reassuring squeeze. Zayn glanced around the room. He saw that two people across the room kept sneaking glances at them. Niall, in particular. Zayn’s muscles tensed automatically. He couldn’t explain it, but he just a weird vibe from them. It didn’t help that he couldn’t see them that well in the dark pub.

 He was always protective over Niall, because he was almost like the baby in the family. Harry was the youngest, but there was some sort of innocence Niall had, and Zayn felt the need to protect it.

“Hey,” Liam nudged Zayn. “You OK?”

“Yeah,” Zayn mumbled, tearing his eyes off the two strangers. He tried to shake off the weird feeling. “I’m good.”

“Food!” Niall wriggled in his seat, eyes fixed on the waiter.

“Yes, Niall, food!” Zayn laughed.

The rest of the lunch was fine. The boys talked and joked, enjoying some of the down time. They only got asked for one picture, and Zayn didn’t see the strange people anywhere. The boys had just paid the bill and where leaving when Zayn noticed them again. Now that they were outside, Zayn got a better look at their faces. They were both men, a little over 6 feet and built sturdily. Both men were in all black, and had sunglasses propped up on their head. Zayn wrapped his arms around Liam and Niall, pulling them close. He squeezed Liam’s side gently. Liam looked at him, and Zayn nodded discreetly in the men’s direction.

“Are they with security, you think?” Liam whispered.

“I’m not sure,” he whispered back.

“What?” Niall asked a little loudly.

“Nothing,” Zayn said, trying to smile sweetly. Niall looked around Zayn at Liam. Liam just shook his head. Niall looked confused, but let the subject drop.

They started walking back towards the hotel. Every once and a while, Zayn would look over his shoulder. The men followed them for about two blocks before disappearing. Liam seemed to share Zayn’s feeling of unease, for he too was looking around. Niall was totally oblivious, talking away about tour dates and fans. Liam had his hand on Zayn’s neck, and was lightly drawing circles on the back of his neck. It was strangely calming.

“Hey,” Niall said, his tone in voice suddenly changing. “Who are they?” Liam and Zayn’s heads both swiveled in the direction the Niall was staring.

“Shit,” Zayn breathed.

“Just act normal,” Liam said. He picked up his pace, dragging the other boys with him. “OK, act like I just said something funny,” Liam hissed in Zayn’s ear. Zayn tried to laugh a little.

“That was an awful fake laugh!” Niall giggled.

“Are you saying I’m not a good actor?” Zayn asked, pretending to be offended.

“Terrible!” Liam agreed.

This time Zayn laughed for real. The other boys joined in. Soon they were at the doors of the hotel, and Zayn decided it was safe to look around one more time. The men were in the same spot, arms crossed. One of them nodded at Zayn.

“I don’t like it,” Liam muttered.

“Me neither,” Zayn said. He pressed the button on the lift, floor 7.

“Could they just have been with security?” Niall asked. “I mean, it’s not like we told anyone where we going. Maybe Management sent them to look after us?” Liam nodded.

“Could be,” Liam sighed. “We might just be over reacting.” He dropped his hand from Zayn neck and ran his hands through his hair. Niall placed his head on Zayn’s shoulder and yawned. Zayn ran his hand through Niall’s hair.

“Are we preforming tonight?” Niall mumbled.

“No, but we are tomorrow morning,” Zayn said.

The lift dinged when it got to their floor. The boys got off, and started down the hallway.

“Do you think we can just walk on in?” Niall asked.

Zayn placed his ear to the door, listening for a minute. When he heard nothing, he cautiously opened the door. He heard Liam sigh behind him. Zayn had to admit, the scene they walked in on was pretty cute. Harry and Louis were curled up on the bed, covers pulled up to their chins. Harry had his head tucked under Louis’s chin, and Louis in turn had his nose buried in Harry’s hair.

Now, Zayn wasn’t too much of a romance kind of guy, but he had to say he was a little jealous of the relationship the boys had. There was this one girl Zayn had seen on the X Factor that had been pretty cute. Perrie? Yeah, that was her name. She was and some other girls called themselves “Little Mix”, or something along those lines. She seemed spunky. He liked her. Of course, there were also certain boys as well. But it was probably easiest to keep to girls. Being bisexual wasn’t frowned upon, but not something he wanted to shout out to the world just yet.

He turned and looked at the other boys. Niall was grinning goofily, and Liam had a small sad smile. “Should we join them?” Zayn suggested.

“Snuggle time!” Niall stage whispered running and jumping on the unoccupied bed.

Zayn followed suit, dragging Liam along with him. They kicked off their shoes and climbed under the covers. Zayn wrapped his arms around Niall, shivering a little.

“Cold?”  Niall asked.

“It’s getting cold, I guess,” Zayn replied. “It is the middle of September.”

“Oh my god,” Liam gasped. “Zayn, your hands are freezing!” Liam took his hands in his, and pressed them against Niall’s stomach. Niall yelped.

“You are cold!” Niall squealed.

Zayn laughed and apologized for his cold hands. Liam brought Zayn’s hands up to his mouth and began gently blowing on them, trying to warm them up. He and Liam locked eyes, and Zayn smiled. Liam sneakily placed a small kiss on Zayn’s knuckle. Zayn shivered, although this time not from the cold.

The boys eventually fell asleep, and didn’t wake up for quite some time. 


	11. Oh Liam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's oh so confused

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one's probably shorter, sorry!

When Liam woke up, the room was getting dark. He looked over on the nightstand and looked at the clock. 7 o’clock? Had he really slept for that long? Liam shifted in Niall’s arms so that he could look around the room. Zayn whined and Liam felt his arm almost yanked out of his socket. He had forgotten he had fallen asleep with Zayn’s hands pressed up against his chest. He let go of Zayn’s hands, and slowly sat up so as to not disturb the other two boys.

Zayn whined again and stuck his hands out. Liam laughed lightly. Zayn sounded a little like a puppy, and not very manly at all. Zayn opened one eye to glare at Liam, and made little grabbing motions with his hands.

“Cold,” he mumbled, sounding like a pouty little 3 year old.

Liam sighed and took Zayn’s hands into his once again. Liam massaged Zayn’s hands, loosening them up. Zayn never liked being cold. He usually slept commando, like most of the boys, but he would always turn up the heat to some ungodly temperature and then just have one or two blankets. Liam liked to sleep in pajamas. He had Toy Story bottoms (the others used to make fun of him for it), and then he just wore a t-shirt to bed. Liam wondered what it would be like to sleep with a commando Zayn…

Liam shook his head. Where had that come from? He stood up, trying to press down on the awkward erection. He carefully tucked Zayn’s hands under the covers, and placed Niall’s hands over his. Zayn would survive until he came back.

He walked into the bathroom and closed the door. He looked at his face in the mirror. What was going on? He didn’t like Zayn! At least, not like that. He was pretty sure Zayn was bisexual, but that wasn’t the point. Liam splashed some cold water on his face, trying to think some things through. He liked Danielle, his girlfriend. Liam was tired, and he hadn’t seen said girlfriend in almost a month. All he needed to do was see her again, and that would solve his problem…wouldn’t it?

Liam was shaken from his thoughts by a knock at the door.

“What?” He asked; more exasperated than annoyed. It was hard sharing one bathroom with five guys!

“Can I come in? You’ve been in there forever,” came Zayn’s reply.

Liam sighed, but opened the door. Zayn slid past Liam (it was a little tight in the bathroom) and placed himself in front of the mirror.

“Ugh, look at these dark circles!” Zayn complained. “Do you know how much make up it will take to hide these?”

Liam smirked a little. “Oh, Zayn, always so concerned with looks,” he sighed dramatically. “Looks aren’t everything, though.” He cheekily reminded Zayn.

“Uh, ‘scuse me!” Zayn whirled around, pretending to look horribly offended. “I need to keep up this precious face!” He smoothed his signature quiff. “The ladies love me.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Sure they do. They absolutely adore you,” he playfully shoved Zayn’s shoulder.

“Damn right they do!”

Liam laughed and left Zayn to stare into the mirror. He saw Niall curled up on his side, shivering slightly. Louis and Harry were still sleeping. Even though he had been sleeping a lot, Liam felt strangely tired. He just wanted to curl up with the boys and sleep for days. Figuring he’d need a lot of sleep for the performance the next day, he hopped back into bed with Niall, sliding his arms around the blonde lad.

Liam began to drift off almost immediately, breathing in Niall’s scent. He was almost asleep when Zayn slipped back in next to him. Pressed between two warm bodies Liam fell asleep feeling happy and fuzzy and safe. 


	12. Foster the People

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the lyrics go to Foster the People   
> also, Ni's turn to tell the story

Niall awoke to the sound of Zayn singing incredibly loudly in the shower. He rolled over and buried his face under a pillow, trying to block Zayn out. Niall heard Harry join in, his voice cracking a little as it warmed up after being asleep for so long.

“ _Gotta get away, there’s a warrant on my head. Got to get away, want me alive or dead…”_

Niall vaguely recognized it to be a Foster the People song. Part of him wanted to join in, but the other part of him just wanted them to shut the fuck up already!

“Nialler!” Liam called from somewhere close to Niall’s head. “Time to get up, love, we’ve got some warming up to do.”

Niall grunted. Liam gently pried the pillow from his fingers, and pulled Niall into a sitting position. Niall squinted, half pretending to glare at Liam, half blinded by the sudden brightness of the room. Liam ruffled his hair, and handed him a bagel.

“C’mon guys, we’ve gotta get going!” Liam announced.

“M’kay Daddy Direction, we’re going.” Zayn teases as he steps out of the bathroom.

“You did your hair that fast?” The boys chorus, looking impressed. Zayn takes forever with his hair.

“Always a tone of surprise!” Zayn attempted to swat the 4 boys with his towel, but only managed to get Liam, some of Niall, and is moving onto Harry when Louis tackles his waist. They come crashing down on Niall’s legs, squawking and hitting each other. Niall unceremoniously kicked them off of his legs before getting up, taking a bite of his bagel while he threw on some cloths.

“Where are we playing this morning?” Harry asks, pulling Louis off Zayn.

“Uh, some morning show.” Liam picked up his phone and checked. “The Kelly & Ed Morning show?”

“Ooh exciting!” Louis clapped his hands. “We’ve finally reached the stage of preforming live on morning shows!” He flings himself backwards, taking Harry with him. The two boys tussled for a few moments before breaking apart, and running towards the door.

“Meet you guys downstairs?” they ask, barely waiting for an answer before they ran out.

Niall pulled a red polo over his head, and messes with his hair a little bit in the mirror before he gives up. There will be a makeup crew to do that anyway when they get to venue. He meets Zayn’s eyes in the mirror. They smile at each other a little, before both turning to Liam.

“Ready to go, Li?” Zayn asked as he shrugged on his signature leather jacket.

“I think so,” Liam looked around him. “I feel like I’m forgetting something…” His brow knotted adorably.

“You always think that.” Zayn chuckled and slung his arm around Liam before turning to Niall. “You ready, Nialler?”

“Yep, let’s go.” Niall wrapped his arm around Zayn’s waist.


	13. Nanna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall meets a girl

The boys walked out into the hallway, arm in arm.

“What do you think they’ll ask us about today?” Niall mused aloud as they waited for the lift to arrive.

“Probably the usual,” Liam shrugged. “Y’know, stuff like ‘what’s it like being famous?’ Or ‘how do you deal with the fame?’ Stupid stuff.”

“Girlfriends,” Zayn chimed in. “Always girlfriends.” 

“What can I say?” Niall flipped his hair a little. “The ladies take comfort in the fact that I’m still single.”

The boys all laughed at that, both teasing Niall. The lift dinged, and the boys stepped in. There were already two girls in the lift, a blond and a brunette. Both talking animatedly, the brunette gesturing with her hands a lot. They flashed smiles at the boys but didn’t do anything else.

Niall did a double take at one of the girls. He nudged Liam and raised his eye brows. Could it be? Liam shrugged.

“Uh, excuse me,” Niall started. Both girls paused to look at him. God, if he was wrong this was going to be super awkward. “Aren’t you August?” He gestured at the blond.

“Oh,” she smiled brightly. “You recognized me?”

“Of course!” Niall sighed in relief, glad he was right.

“We try to remember as many people as possible.” Liam chipped in.

“Wait, you’re the one that saved us from the awful photographer!” Zayn piped up, the name and image finally clicking.

“Yep, that was me.” August grinned, taking a little bow. “This,” she turned and pointed to the girl next to her. “Is my best friend, or really sister, Anna.”

“Hi Anna,” the boys chorused.

Anna smiled and waved before looking down at her shoes, seemingly shy. August bumped her hip into Anna’s.

“Not getting shy, are we?” August teased. “I mean, this is One Direction, isn’t it? I thought you’d have died by now!” Niall laughed at that.

“Shut up,” Anna said, clearly trying not to laugh.

“Aww, look,” Zayn pointed. “She’s blushing!” He playfully poked her cheek.

This time Anna laughed out loud, smacking Zayn’s hand away and poking his nose. “Am not!”

“Are, too!” They started slapping each other, laughing and just goofing around.

“Oi! Not the hair,” Zayn begged. Anna now had him in a head lock and was giggling wildly, clearly pleased with herself.

“Wow, let yourself get beaten up by a girl, are we Zayn?” Liam teased, bending down to smirk at Zayn.

“Hey, I’m not just _any_ girl!” Anna protested, looking indignant.

“Oh, well _excuse_ us,” Niall held up his hands. “Tell us, who are you then?” He leaned towards her a little, one eye brow raised, and a hand on his chin.

“Uh,” Anna paused for a second. “I’m, uh…” she looked at August for some help. August just shrugged. “Fine,” she sighed. “I am Anna Chase, head-locker-extraordinaire!”

Niall laughed, deciding that he liked this Anna girl.

The lift dinged, and the doors slid open. Anna let go of Zayn, mumbling a small apology about messing up his hair. Zayn shrugged and tugged Liam out of the lift. August followed the other boys out, glancing back to make sure Anna and Niall were following. He turned and smiled at Anna, grabbing her hand and following the others.

They stepped out into the crowd, Niall instinctively tightening his grip on Anna’s hand. She squeezed it appreciatively and shuffled closer so that she was pressing up against his back. Niall tried to get out of the crowd and to the cars as quickly as he could. He never liked crowds anyway. Once they were safely in the car, Niall pulled Anna into his lap (which got a round of wolf whistles from the boys). Anna, however, seemed perfectly content to sit on his lap.  

“So,” Louis turned to Anna and August. “Tell us about yourselves.”

“Well, what do you want to know?” Anna asked.

“Hmm…” Louis stopped to think.

“Oh, I know!” Harry popped in. “How about the important one, what are your views on Larry?” He winked at Louis.

“Uh,” she paused. “I think…” Anna narrowed her eyes, looking back and forth from Lou to Haz. “Yes.” Was all she said, adding in an affirmative nod.  

“Smart one, you are,” Louis smiled.

“Alright, where do you want us to drop you?” Liam interjected. “We should be safe from fans now. Anywhere in particular you need to go?”

“We were going to go to the book store, actually.” August replied.

“Yeah, I need some books for school.” Anna grimaced.

Niall laughed. “What are you studying?” he asked.

“Well, I’m studying to become a surgeon, but I’m also taking courses to become a journalist.”

“Wow,” the boys chorused.

“How are you not totally dead right now, what with studying and everything?” Zayn asked, leaning forward over Liam.

“Honestly,” Anna chuckled a little. “I’m pretty zonked. But I’ve passed my midterms, so that’s good. What month is it?” She looked around. “God, I don’t even know what month it is! What is, March?”

“February 23rd, hon.” Louis gently told her.

“Man, you really do need some coffee,” Niall giggled poking her side.

She squealed, laughing and trying wriggle out of Niall’s grip. Niall tightened his grip and pulled her back into his lap, both laughing. 

After a minute or so of tussling, Niall finally left Anna alone to catch her breath. He looked over at the other boys, who were wiggling they’re eyebrows suggestively and winking at Niall. He blushed, and tucked his head into Anna’s neck. Man, they were not gonna let him live this one down if he didn’t make a move…


	14. She's Not Afraid...but is he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi there loves! sorry this is so late, i've been drowning in school work. thanks so much for the feedback! keep it coming :) xx

He glanced at Liam, turning to gauge his reaction to Niall flirting with Anna. Liam, however, did not seem to have a care in the world. He was too busy staring at Zayn, like he was trying to memorize the dark haired boys face. Niall felt, well, jealous really. Why couldn’t Liam look at him like that?

Liam seemed to feel Niall looking at the two of them, because he turned at flashed a small smile at Niall. Niall tried to return it. He buried his face back into Anna’s sweet smelling hair, breathing in deeply. He wasn’t really sure what was wrong with him. He was almost positive he had never felt this way about a boy before, let alone his best friend. Sure, he and Harry had snogged that one time, but it had been like 4 a.m. and they were kind of drunk.

Here there was a cute and funny girl sitting in this lap (who was clearly smitten with him), why couldn’t he just enjoy it? Plus, it was clear all those times that Liam had gotten protective over him, it was mostly friendly. Because as hard as poor Liam seemed to try, he didn’t seem to be able to take his eyes off of Zayn.

*Zayn’s perspective*

Zayn watched Niall giggle and wrestle with the girl in the backseat. Zayn smiled to himself. It seemed like Niall had found a good, non-band-related friend. Who was a girl. That part was the bonus. Zayn had always hoped Niall would find someone, because he was starting to get worried he and Liam might have something going on.

Speak of the devil. Zayn glanced at Liam from the corners of his eyes. The puppy-faced lad kept sneaking lingering glances at Zayn, but then he would glance over at Niall. What was going on? For a few seconds, Liam would have eyes only for Zayn, and then he would look over at Niall. What the bloody hell? 

Zayn causally swung his arm around Liam, his hand wresting on Liam’s shoulder. He felt Liam stiffen a little bit in surprise at the contact, only to melt into Zayn’s touch. Liam slouched a little more against Zayn, his head dipping closer to Zayn’s. Zayn noticed the way a smile played at the edge of Liam’s lips, threatening to come out and unleash that million-watt smile on everybody. Or just Zayn. Just Zayn worked, too. 

The rest of the car ride was filled with Anna and Niall sneaking glances at each other when they thought the other one wasn’t looking, although Niall would occasionally glance over at Zayn and Liam. Zayn couldn’t be sure, but he was pretty sure that he saw a little bit of hurt and jealousy in Niall’s eyes. Why would he be jealous? He had a perfectly fit girl in his lap. 

Eventually they reached the book store where the girls had asked to be dropped off at, Anna exchanging numbers with all the boys. She was one of the fans that Zayn actually really liked. She would fan-girl, but not to the extent of being annoying or obnoxious. Mostly it was like meeting someone before they were One Direction, which was nice for a change.

The girls hopped out of the van, waved at the boys, and then scampered into the store to escape the biting wind. As soon as they were in the store, Louis turned to Niall and started up with per usual Louis-antics.

“Niiiall,” he cooed. “We got a little smitten-kitten right here!”

“Smitten-kitten?” Harry asked, scrunching up his nose. “I thought I got to be kitten!”

“You’re _my_ kitten,” Louis turned to the curly haired boy, running his index finger under Harry’s chin affectionately. “But fine, Niall can be smitten-leprechaun!” Harry clapped and giggled.

“Oh my god,” Zayn scoffed. “You two are like a pair of 13 year olds.”

Harry laughed, tucking Louis’s head under his chin.

“Well, at least we’re better than you two!” Louis quipped, pointing at Liam and Zayn.

“How so?” Liam asked, confused.

“Well, we’re going to have to watch you two flirt and deny it for a while, and then Niall will have to not only be the captain of Larry but also…what’s the name? Ziam? Whatever it is, he’ll have to be the captain of that too!” Louis sighed dramatically. “At least with Hazza and me here, it was apparently very obvious from the beginning.” 

“What-“

“We’re not-“

Zayn and Liam tried to dispute Louis’s accusations, but they were drowned out by Louis cackling and the fact that they kept interrupting each other. Finally, they just settled back into their original position; Liam’s head now resting on Zayn’s shoulder, Zayn’s head on top of Liam’s head and hand on his broader shoulders.

Niall seemed a little put off by their contact, but eventually he was distracted by Louis who kept bombarding the Irish lad with questions. Zayn nuzzled his nose into Liam’s fuzzy haircut, breathing in the scent he knew to be Liam.


	15. Whaaat's even happening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one even knows, bro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long!! and sorry nothing really happens. better stuff SOOOON. feel free to send ideas :) xx

Zayn hopped out of the van, shivering as the cold air hit him. He jogged towards the open back door of the studio, followed by the rest of the boys. They were supposed to be going on some ‘morning show’, the kind that actually aired at about 1 in the afternoon. But whatever, Zayn didn’t really give a fuck because usually Liam and Louis did all the talking. All Zayn had to do was (according to Liam), and he quoted “do the whole Zayn-smolder and look sexy”. That was perfectly fine with Zayn.

To be honest, these things made Zayn a little nervous. While he was constantly reminded of how much people loved and lusted for him, he always got self-conscience. Zayn knew he could have it much worse, like Louis and Harry, who were constantly getting tweets saying either “OMG just DATE ALREADY!” or things like “Ugh fags like what ur not gay”. But those never really seemed to phase the two…Zayn’s mind wandered to wonder as to why the two weren’t always phased by the tweets.  

“Zay-nee,” Louis playfully knocked into Zayn’s shoulder, derailing his train of thought.

“Oh look at me, ‘m Zayn Malik all hot and shit.” Niall snickered good naturedly.

“Shove off,” Zayn muttered, trying not to give them satisfaction by smiling.

“I see that smile, don’t try to deny it.” Liam giggled, sliding around Zayn to throw his coat at Paul.

“Me? Smile?” Zayn laughed. “Not even in your dreams, Lili.”

“How’d you know I was dreaming about you?” Liam winked before walking towards his chair to get his makeup done.

Zayn tried not to choke on the air around him. Was Liam hinting that’d he had been dreaming about Zayn? Or was he saying he was dreaming about someone else? Zayn shook his, clearing his head. He’d have the majority of the interview to think things through, because it’s not like he ever did anything anyway.

He plopped down in his chair in front of the stylist, a cute little purple haired girl, shooting her a flirty smile (as was expected), and let her jabber away with ideas on his hair or whatever. He nodded in all the appropriate places, ‘mhm’ing and letting her do whatever she wanted. 

In the end she just fixed his hair with a little more long-lasting hair spray, applied some foundation to mask some of the dark circles under his eyes from preforming, and the tiniest bit of eyeliner. According to the stylist – it was something like Perrie, he thought – some of the girls had a thing for him and eyeliner. 

“Bit of a weird kink,” Zayn mused aloud.

“It could be worse,” she giggled into her hand.

“Hey, Lou!” Zayn called across the Louis. “Guess what?” He smiled to himself, Louis was going to love this.

“What?” Louis called back.

“Guess what my kink is?”

“Oh dear lord,” Niall cut in. “Do we really wanna know?”

“I do I do!” Louis cheered.

“Eyeliner.”

“Ooh I like it!” Louis wiggled his eyebrows, and Harry cat-called. 

“Eyeliner?” Liam looked over at Zayn, his eyebrows furrowed disapprovingly.

“Yeah, Liam, eyeliner.” Zayn made his eyes hooded and slumped in his seat, sticking the tip of his finger in his mouth.

Liam’s eyes widened, and he quickly looked down. 

“What’s wrong Leeyum?” He grinned wickedly. “Got somethin’ to say?”

“Don’t be cheeky,” Harry chided. “You know you find Zayn mildly attractive with eyeliner.”

“Mm, got a thing for eyeliner?” Louis mused, quickly turning the subject around.

“Well, um, I didn’t,” Harry mumbled, avoiding Louis’s gaze. 

“C’mon Hazza, admit it!” Niall prodded, making the curly haired boy turn bright pink.

“Aw, leave him alone!” Liam got up out of his chair and hugged Harry protectively. 

Zayn watched the boys banter back and forth for a few moments, smiling. He might not always like the publicity of being in One Direction, but he wouldn’t trade the boys for anything in the world. 

 


	16. Interviews

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zayn zones out most the interview, but he does manage to learn some...interesting...things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK OK the next chapter is going to be VERY interesting. I swear it! ;) xx

“So, boys, are you ready to answer some of the questions that have been pouring in from all the fans?” The boys cheered in response.

“Alright!” The interviewer clapped his hands. “The tweets will appear on the screen, and all you boys have to do is answer one at a time. Easy, right?”

Zayn rolled his eyes. God, these interviewers treated them like idiots sometimes. Liam, who was sitting next to him, snickered. Niall caught Zayn too, and laughed loudly. Harry and Louis craned around each other, trying to get what was so funny. Niall just shook his head and sat back in his seat at the end of the couch.  

The interviewer, oblivious as ever, turned his attention to the screen.

“The first question is from a fan in Czechoslovakia, named Mollie. They want to know ‘ _If you could eat one of the band members, who would you eat and why?_ ’” The interviewer – Matt or whatever – laughed. “So, boys, what do you say? Who would you eat?”

“I would definitely eat Niall,” Louis piped up. “He’s looks like he’d last me a while.” He poked Niall from around Harry.

“Hey! Watcha tryin’ to say?” Niall asked, smacking Louis.

Harry put his arms up, trying to save himself from getting slapped by either of the boys, who were currently poking each other and slapping. Zayn chuckled and sat back in his seat at the opposite end of the couch.  

“Oi!” Liam cut in, attempting to pull the two fighting boys apart. “Answer the bloody question.”

“I’d eat…” Harry draped his arm of Louis. “Um, I think,” he furrowed his brow. “Louis…because, I dunno.” He shrugged. “I just would.”

“I don’t know whether to be flattered or offended?” Louis joked.

“Both?” the interviewer put in before turning to Liam. “What about you, Liam?”

“I think I’d eat…” he looked at all the boys, like he was sizing them up. “I think I’d eat Zayn. I dunno why, I just would.” He grinned at Zayn.

Zayn smiled back, shaking his head. “What if I wanted to eat you?” he fired back.

“I’d get to you first, when you were asleep!” He smiled triumphantly. “It’d be easy, you’re always sleeping.”

“You can’t eat me if I’m sleeping, that’s not fair!” Zayn protested.

“Can and would.” Liam replied with a wink.

“So, I take it you’d both eat each other?” the interviewer asked, his eyebrows slightly raised.

“Apparently,” Liam shrugged his shoulders in the ‘ _what can you do?_ ’ kind of way.  

“What about you, Niall?” Louis turned to Niall, catching the interviewer’s attention.

“I’d eat all of ya little tossers.” Niall stuck his tongue out of them.

“What?! Now I get eaten twice.” Louis pouted. 

“Poor Boo-bear, always getting eaten more than once,” Harry giggled.

All four boys turned to look at Harry, eyes wide, holding in laughs. That was the thing with Harry. 50% of the time he was cupcake-princess kitten and was super innocent. The other 50% of the time though, he was super-sex-kitten and all dirty minded. 

“Um, so well uh,” Liam rushed forward. 

“I think that’s all we need for now boys,” the interviewer said quickly. Zayn noticed that he was rather pale, listening to whatever instructions were coming through his earpiece. “Thank you so much, and good luck! Ladies and gentlemen, One Direction!” There was some canned-applause, and then the boys were lead off stage.

“I wonder why we got cut off early.” Niall wondered aloud, wandering towards the mini fridge by the makeup station.

Liam and Zayn exchanged a look, glancing at Louis and Harry. The two were currently giggling and standing very close.

“Do you think Modest will let this go on?” Liam inched closer to Zayn.

Liam’s chest was now pressed up against Zayn’s arm. Zayn held his breath. He turned to look at Liam. He saw the worry etched into the boy’s face.

“Maybe,” Zayn mused. “I don’t see why not but, y’know.” He turned slightly and wrapped his arm around Liam’s waist. 

Liam’s chest was now pressed up against Zayn’s arm. Zayn held his breath. He turned to look at Liam. He saw the worry etched into the boy’s face.

Liam sighed and put both arms around Zayn, pulling him in for a hug. Zayn buried his face into Liam’s shoulder; Liam had his head nuzzled into Zayn’s neck. Zayn closed his eyes, relishing this moment.

Liam pulled away for a moment. “Do you know where the loo is? I can’t find it.”

Zayn blinked. That was a little random. “Uh, yeah, I think so.” He stuttered.

“Show me?” Liam asked, dropping his hands from Zayn’s waist and pulling on his arms, this way and that. Left, right, left.

“OK, this way.” Zayn began dragging Liam down the hall.

“Where you two going?” Paul called.

“Loo,” Liam replied.

“OK,” Paul nodded. “Be back soon, we have to go.”

Both boys nodded and continued to walk down the corridor. 


	17. Things Get Rough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically Ziam bathroom sex because someone thought it was a good idea (not me).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry if this is crap. I hope you like it.

Zayn led Liam down the hallway, hands still linked. Liam began making small circles on Zayn’s hand, sending shivers down his spine.

“It’s right here,” Zayn pushed open the door.

Liam followed him inside. Zayn had barely gotten 5 feet into the bathroom when he was being pushed up against the door with a surprising amount of force.

“Li?” Zayn squeaked.

Liam was hardly ever rough.

“You don’t understand how much I’ve wanted to do this throughout the entire fucking interview,” Liam whispered.

They were nose to nose, Liam’s cheeks flushed and his eyes hooded. Zayn felt himself growing embarrassingly hard.

“What are you talking about?” Zayn stuttered.

“You know what I’m talking about.” Liam growled.

Zayn was almost scarred by this Liam, but it was also incredibly hot.

“That damn eyeliner is way too hot on you for your own good. And you in general, really. I tried not admit that I found my best mate super-hot, but…” he trailed off.

Zayn didn’t really have time to react before Liam was pushing their lips together. Zayn stayed frozen a second longer before kissing Liam back with just as much force. Zayn licked his way into Liam’s mouth, biting and searching.

Liam entwined his fingers into the shorter bits of hair at the back of Zayn’s head. 

Zayn spun them around so that it was Liam’s turn to be trapped. He pushed his hips into Liam’s, who instantly began grinding against Zayn. Grinding _hard._

Zayn moaned in Liam’s mouth, pausing for a moment to catch his breath. He opened his eyes for a moment, and saw Liam grinning mischievously back at him.  

A very, _very_ bad idea popped into Zayn’s head at that moment.

“You ready for this?” Zayn asked.

“Ready for what?”

“You’ll see,” Zayn winked.   

Zayn pulled Liam into a stall and locked the stall door. He turned back around and pulled Liam into him. Zayn pushed Liam up against the door, palming Liam through the fabric of his jeans. Liam’s hips bucked up, his hands reaching down to play with Zayn’s waistband.

Liam latched onto Zayn’s neck, biting and kissing, licking. Zayn tried to focus on what he was doing, but _damn._ Liam had found Zayn’s sweet spot in about .4 seconds. Zayn moaned, but continued to grind/palm Liam till Liam was literally begging Zayn to do something.

“Please Zayn,” Liam whined. “Please!”

“Mm, looks like the tables have turned a little bit, haven’t they?” Zayn whispered into Liam’s ear, biting on his earlobe.

“Please, please, please.”

Zayn tugged on Liam’s pants, unbuttoning them and making them pool around Liam’s ankles. Zayn took a moment to run his eyes over Liam’s package, nodding appreciatively at the other boy’s 10 inch. He tugged on Liam’s underwear, making that drop too.

Liam’s cock sprung up onto his stomach, red and hard. Zayn gulped, feeling his own member growing painfully hard. 

Zayn dropped to his knees and took the very tip of Liam into his mouth. Liam sucked in his breath, the sudden heat and wetness overwhelming. Zayn swirled his tongue of the tip, taking just a little bit more in. Liam grabbed Zayn’s hair, throwing his head back against the stall door. Zayn could feel Liam tensing, trying not to slam his hips again and again into Zayn’s mouth.

After a minute of adjusting to Liam’s dick and getting his breathing, Zayn deep throated Liam.

“Urgh,” Liam moaned. “Zaaayn!”

Zayn shuddered. He’d been on Liam for about 30 seconds and he’d already got Liam mewling his name. 

 Zayn ran his tongue on the underside of Liam’s cock, right along the vain. He snaked his hand behind Liam’s spread legs to tug gently on his balls.

Zayn felt that burning in the pit of his stomach. He desperately wanted to wank himself into oblivion, but he also didn’t want to stop. He would have kept throating Liam, but he pulled off and pulled Zayn up.

Not saying a word, Liam reached down and unbuttoned Zayn’s pants. He grabbed Zayn’s cock and began pumping furiously.

_Up, down, flick._

Zayn’s knees began to get weak as Liam pushed him up against the door again. Zayn reached down, clumsily pumping Liam. After a moment, they settled into a rhythm. Zayn connected their lips, biting down on Liam’s bottom lip.    

“Zayn,” Liam’s voice was shaking.

“I know babe,” Zayn whispered, anticipating what Liam was about to say next. “Cum for me,” he commanded.

Liam quickly complied, spurting hot and fast into Zayn’s hand. He cried out, his hand squeezing around Zayn. Zayn quickly followed, a string of curses mixed in with Liam’s name spewing from his mouth.

The boys stood slumped against the door for a minute, each holding the other up.  

 Zayn’s mind spun, coming down from his high rather reluctantly. Liam nuzzled his nose into Zayn’s neck, placing a small kiss on his neck.

Zayn tightened his grip around Liam’s waist, sighing contently.

“We should probably get cleaned up and go back,” Liam grumbled.

“I guess,” Zayn mumbled.

Liam pulled back slightly to look at Zayn.

“Where…where does this leave us, I guess?” Liam cocked his head to the left slightly.

“I dunno,” Zayn’s heart leapt into his throat.

“I think, maybe for now, we shouldn’t label it?” Liam spoke softly.

“OK, alright.” Zayn nodded. No labeling. Alright, he could do that.

Liam smiled. “Love you, Zaynie.” He kissed Zayn sweetly before pulling away and helping the two of them get cleaned up.  

 

 

 


	18. Things that keep Liam up at night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam thinks things through a little

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long! my mum has leukemia now so i might not post as often, sorry!! xx

Liam tried (and failed) to stop smiling and shaking like a nervous little puppy. What the hell had he done? What if he ruined his and Zayn’s friendship? Liam quickly pushed that thought away. Zayn seemed understanding enough with the whole ‘not labeling’ thing, so why should it effect their friendship? As long it didn’t become a routinely thing…

Liam glanced down at their intertwined hands. It was normal for friends to hold hands, right? Yeah, course it was. They’d done with before. Liam tried to reason with himself, assuring himself it was no big deal.

There was still that sneaky little part of him that was really proud that he’d been able to get kind of reaction. When Zayn had guided him down the corridor, Liam had almost backed out. The reason he’d gone through with his plan was still unclear to even him, but Zayn had just looked so hot. It really wasn’t fair.

“Finally! We were wondering where you to were.” Louis called down the hall as soon as he spotted the two.

“Yeah, we were getting worried.” Harry added from his spot on Louis’s lap.

Louis stopped stroking Harry’s hair for a moment to look the two of them up and down. He narrowed his eyes knowingly before turning his attention back to Harry.

Liam hoped that it wasn’t painfully obvious what had just happened. He played with the hem of his shirt, sneaking a glance at Zayn from the corner of his eye.

Zayn was typing into his phone, talking to someone named ‘Perrie’. Liam tightened his grip on Zayn’s hand slightly. Zayn looked up at Liam, question on his lips. Liam just smiled at him and went over to where Louis and Harry were cuddling. Zayn drifted after him, his eyes glued once again to the screen.

_Don’t worry about it_ Liam chided himself.

“Any idea where Niall went?” Paul hustled into the room looking slightly worried.

“No, sorry.” Louis turned his head slightly. “He’s probably raiding some faculty fridge.” Harry snickered.

“I tried looking in some of the rooms with fridges but I can’t find him…I guess he’ll just meet us back here, right?” Paul looked down at his phone. Looking back up at the boys he said, “We’ve got to leave soon.”

“Don’t worry,” Liam rushed to assure Paul. “We’ve got all our stuff, even Niall’s. He’ll turn up in a few.”

Paul just nodded.

Zayn bumped Liam with his hip, making Liam move over to accommodate him on the couch. 

“You two are crushing us!” Louis complained.

“Lou-bear,” Harry quietly chided, giggling. He tucked his head into the crook of Louis’s neck, nuzzling his nose behind Lou’s ear.

Louis instantly reacted, slightly adjusting his head so that his cheek was resting against the top of Harry’s head. Liam noticed how he would tighten his grip on Harry, or how they would move in sync. It’s like they staring into the same mirror, always subconsciously adjusting to whatever the other one did.

Liam felt something like jealousy strike somewhere deep within him. Why couldn’t he have that? That instantaneous knowing of who you wanted to be with. Even if Harry and Louis wouldn’t admit it, they were obviously in love.  

Liam quietly pondered for a moment his current situation. There was Daniel, who he did like, a lot. Love? Maybe not. But he could get there one day, couldn’t he? He and Dani were always so busy. Her with her amazing dancing, and him with One Direction. They never really saw each other. Maybe if they saw each other more things wouldn’t be so strained...


	19. Where's Niall?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall is...well...no one really knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so terribly sorry this took forever! also, you'll probably hate me at the end. oh well ;) xx

Zayn casually draped his arm behind Liam, hand brushing over Liam’s fuzzy hair. It sent shivers down Liam’s spine. He carefully shifted so that he was perfectly aligned against the curve of Zayn’s body. Close enough to be considered friendly without causing too much suspicion. Although who he was trying to hide from wasn’t entirely clear to even him yet.

Liam looked over at the other two boys. Louis had his arms wrapped around Harry, who was currently looking like he might fall asleep at any given moment. What was wrong with him? This was Liam’s problem; he would do something that seemed well planned, and then regret it. There was something about Zayn that pulled him in time and time again. What was it and why wasn’t he satisfied with Dani?

“What’s wrong?” Zayn’s soft voice derailed Liam’s train of thought.

“Hm?” Liam lolled his head back onto Zayn’s shoulder, unable to stop his need for contact.

“You look upset,” Zayn frowned, slowly pushing away the creases in Liam’s forehead with his finger.

Liam just shrugged and closed his eyes, letting the feeling of Zayn’s fingers on his head soothe him. His eyes got heavy. He didn’t realize how much that little party in the bathroom must have taken out of him. Liam took a deep breath, breathing in the comforting smell of smoke and Zayn’s slightly musky cologne. He let himself completely fall against Zayn, succumbing to the warmth of Zayn’s body.

It wasn’t long till Liam was drifting in and out of sleep. What with Zayn continually stroking his temples and the fact that he didn’t ever actually get his wake-up tea, it was hard not to fall asleep. Just as Liam was teetering on the edge of sleep, Paul hustled in, rudely pulling Liam out of his bliss.

“Alright, seriously, none of you lads has any idea where Niall is?”

The boys all shook their heads, looking at each other. As much as Liam was tempted to bury his head back into Zayn’s shoulder and sleep, he knew that he should help in the search for Niall. Liam lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. The boys pulled themselves off the couch, Harry falling back onto it a couple times, only to be pulled up again by Louis. Apparently he had ended falling asleep, same as Liam.

“Let’s go on adventure to find him then!” Louis shouted, trying to rile the boys out of their sleepy stupor.

Liam rubbed his eyes once more, the need to find Niall safe and sound taking over the need to sleep. He followed Louis and Harry (who were now hand in hand) down the hallway, poking his head into various different rooms, and calling out Niall’s name.

Liam tried not to worry about Niall too much. He’d gone missing before and had always turned up somewhere. Liam reasoned with himself that Niall was always eating or talking naps in odd places. It was entirely possible that Niall was just sleeping somewhere and because he could sleep through most noise, probably didn’t know anyone was looking for him.

The boys walked down the cinderblock hallways, the tension of not finding Niall slowly building between them.

“Where is he?” Liam stopped and threw up his hands, exasperated and a little scared at the same time.

“I’m sure he’s just sleeping off some large meal,” Louis said.

Although from the way he was pacing, dragging poor Harry back and forth, Liam was pretty sure Louis was getting worried too. Liam slid down the wall and onto the floor, dialing Niall’s number and calling it for the 50 billionth time.

“Straight to voice mail,” he reported clicking the phone off and letting it slide to the floor next to him.

“Hey,” Harry slid down next to him and wrapped his arms around Liam. “We’ll find him.” Harry rested his head on Liam’s shoulder, his curls tickling Liam’s face.

Zayn slid down on Liam’s other side, wrapping his arms around Liam too, nuzzling his nose into Liam’s neck. Louis sat down in front of Liam, and took all of their hands into his tiny ones. They huddled like that for a few minutes, sitting in silence.

Louis phone buzzed, snapping them all out of the trance they had slowly been slipping into.

“Hello?”

The boys watched Louis’s face, which was slowly draining of color, his eyes clouding over.

“Ok. Yes, we’re coming. No, no one. Alright. 2 minutes.”

“What is it?” Harry immediately asked, crawling over so that he was almost in Louis’s lap.

“It’s Niall…” Louis stared at his phone.

Liam’s stomach dropped.

“What about Niall, babe?” Harry gently took Louis’s face in his hands and tilted his chin up.

“He’s been taken.” 


	20. No but seriously where the fuck is Niall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys try to keep it together and figure out how to get Niall back

Liam felt numb. What did they mean “taken”? “Taken” as in, some fans got a hold of him and were holding him in their rooms, or taken as in being in a hostile environment and in danger? Liam felt that this was somehow his fault. Maybe if he hadn’t gone off with Zayn, Niall would still be here.

“Li…” Zayn cautiously wrapped his arm around Liam’s waist.

Liam looked at Zayn, who looked like Liam felt. Zayn, who never _ever_ cried (with the exception of when his grandfather died), looked like he was about to do just that. Liam knew that no matter what happened, Zayn always felt the need to protect Niall. Even if Harry was technically the youngest, Niall would always be this family’s baby.  

Zayn opened his mouth like he was going to say more but in the end just shut it and walked quietly down the hall with his arm still wrapped around Liam’s waist. 

They met up with Paul, and were hustled into a black van with no windows. Once inside the van, they were instructed to turn off their phones and put them in a big plastic bag. As soon as everyone’s phone was off, a man none of them had ever seen took the bag from Paul and drove off.

“What are they doing with our phones?” Louis asked, looking pissed.

“It’s just a precaution,” Paul explained. “We don’t know how Niall got out of the building in the first place, so we can’t be sure if he left on his own or…” Paul stopped, exchanging a look with the person in the front seat.

They all got the message clear enough, though. Basically someone had either screwed up and let Niall out onto the streets, or they had taken him from _inside_ the building. But if that much was true, that meant at any time, any one of them could be at risk.

Liam reached across the seat and grabbed Zayn’s hand, holding tight with no intention of letting go. Zayn squeezed Liam’s hand, scooting a little closer.

Liam shot a sympathetic look at Louis and Harry. Poor Harry was curled up on Louis’s lap, collapsed in tears. Louis had his nose buried in Harry’s curls, rubbing the other boy’s sides soothingly.

As much as Liam wanted to cry, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. It was almost like he didn’t have the energy to do it. Maybe it was just the shock, because everyone else in the van was either crying, or definitely had been at some point. 

After staring out the windshield for an unknowable amount of time, the need to sleep crept back up on Liam. Deciding that he was done fighting (and not just with sleep), Liam slumped over into Zayn’s lap. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please don't hate meeee xx


	21. I want you...I think.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam wrestles with his need for Zayn, but also the fact that he might have feelings for Dani AND Ni. Like, damn boy. Decide already!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I PROMISE MORE SOON  
> Also, who wants some more smut in the next chapter? Anyone? Lemme know  
> Oh, one more thing: I know in one of the chaps. it said it was like late Feb? well because it's 90 degrees where I am, the month has now changed to about April. yes yes I know inconsistent, but you try writing in sweaters when you're dying of heat stroke.

Liam woke up at some point in the middle of the night, frowning for a moment when he couldn’t remember why he wasn’t in his own bed. For a moment he almost convinced himself it was one of the other boy’s beds, but then reality hit him smack in the face.

Liam rolled over, burying his face into…whose back was this? Liam breathed in deeply, relaxing slightly when he picked up on the smoky smell of Zayn. Zayn reacted almost instantly to Liam’s touch, curling so that his arse was right up against Liam’s crotch. So this is what spooning _really_ feels like, Liam thought idly to himself.

Sure, he’d spooned with the boys on occasion and with Zayn in particular. But there was something about this time around that made Liam tingle and feel almost giddy. Thinking of Zayn (but definitely _not_ about what he may or may not want to do with Zayn) helped Liam to forget about Niall a little.

Of course, until Ni came back, Liam would probably be unfixable. But that didn’t mean Zayn couldn’t help him…right? Liam groaned quietly into Zayn’s back. Why was it so hard for him to decide what he wanted?!

After a few moments of wrestling with his inner-turmoil, Liam carefully detached himself from Zayn, and began to roll off the bed, until he realized that they weren’t the only ones in the bed. Harry and Louis were asleep, cuddling a few inches away. Liam sighed, sliding off the end of the bed.

“Where ya goin?” A sleepy voice asked from the depths of the covers.

Liam turned around. “I dunno, a walk maybe.”

“No,” Louis raised himself from Harry’s embrace. “I’m coming with you, we’re not allowed to go far alone.”

“Fine, I won’t go far.” Liam snapped, desperate to be alone.

“Yes, you will.” Louis sighed and slid from the bed as well, slipping a sweater over his head and putting on some slippers. “Plus, I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?”  Liam moped, not in the mood to talk much.

Before answering, Louis placed a kiss on Harry’s forehead, and pushed him out the door, closing it softly behind them. Liam looked around curiously. Where were they? It looked like a hotel, but why would Modest keep them at a hotel if they were trying to keep them away from people?

“It’s were most of the people from Modest and similar companies work,” Louis explained, catching the confused look on Liam’s face. “Modest had them all leave for a few days. Made up some story about construction.”

“How come there’s no one at our door?” Liam asked, starting down the hallway.

“There was, originally. Paul was in the room as well. But I think now they have people at the elevator entrances, along with in the stairways and such.”

“How do you always know about this stuff? What Modest does?” Liam inquired.

Louis grinned evilly for a moment. “I have my ways.”

They turned a corner and, spotting nothing up a shaded window, turned back down the long hallway.

“But this isn’t about Modest, or me. What I wanted to talk about was you,” Liam felt Louis watching him for a reaction. He tried to show none.

“What about me?” He asked about as nonchalantly as he could.

“Well, what’s with you and Zayn? And don’t try to lie,” Louis smiled wanly as Liam opened his mouth to say something. “I saw the look you two had after your little trip to the loo—which, by the way, lasted way too long to be anything more than a wee.”

“I…” Liam searched for the words he wanted. “I guess, it’s just…well,” he struggled to put his feelings into words.

Louis chuckled. “Look, Li, you don’t have to explain to me. If you two are together, fine, just make sure you talk about the consequences. If you’re not, but you think you might want to be, have that talk too.” They turned another corner, this one with a full wall of mirrors. “I see the way you look at each other, Liam.” Louis said softly.

“Hmm?” Liam pretended not to understand.

“It’s the same look I had for Harry since, well, pretty much since we met.” Louis shoved his hands in his pockets, suddenly looking nervous. “I mean, we’ve know each other for, what, a year? It took me a year to finally realize how much I actually fancied him.”

Liam didn’t really know what to say to that.

“We’re not, like, official yet,” Louis explained. “I mean, we are but not, y’know?” Louis tilted his head, trying to get his meaning across.

“It’s complicated, I got it.” Liam nodded.

“Yeah,” Louis grinned stupidly to himself.  

“But look, whatever it is you’ve got going on with Zayn, try and figure it out soon, yeah?”

Liam nodded hurriedly, thoughts jumbled and a mess. Louis smiled, and punched Liam lightly.

“It’ll all work out in the end, Li. It’s like you’re his mirror.” Louis winked and sauntered back towards their room, leaving Liam to stare at the mirrors and wonder what Louis had meant.

 


	22. Squishes are nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fluffy Zarry Zouis and a side of Larry

Louis snuck back into the room, careful to shut the door quietly. He walked a little farther into the room (which was really more like a small office with a bed placed in the middle of it), glancing at the bed to make sure both other boys were asleep. They were, both boys snuggled up against each other, Harry’s head tucked under Zayn’s chin. Louis chucked his shoes into the corner and climbed up onto the bed behind Harry, wrapping his arms around the boy’s small waist.

Louis could feel Zayn’s breath on his face, slow and even. Louis closed his eyes, focusing on Zayn’s breathing and Harry’s scent of fruity shampoo he used. He tried to keep his mind from wandering to Niall’s whereabouts, but it was hard. Every time his eyes would droop, his mind beginning to succumb to the sleepy warmth spreading over him, Louis would imagine where Niall was, and how scared.

After a few moments of shifting around in the bed, trying desperately to clear his mind so that he could sleep, Louis was about to give up and go looking for Liam when Zayn spoke.

“Can’t sleep, huh?” Zayn laughed humorlessly.

“Yeah,” Louis sighed. “I just…can’t seem to shut my mind off tonight.”

Zayn’s eyes fluttered open, gazing sleepily at Louis. “Want to talk about it?”

“Huh,” Louis chuckled. “Usually I’m the one offering to talk, but if you’re up to it.”

Zayn nodded, looking more awake and alert, waiting for Louis to start talking. Louis bided his time, running his hands through Harry’s hair, thinking of where to start.

“I’m just – I’m really nervous about Niall.” Louis tugged gently on Harry’s curls, almost surprised the boy hadn’t woken up.

Zayn nodded in agreement, and Louis could’ve sworn he saw tears threatening to spill over. “Liam’s been really, uh, weird about it,” Zayn murmured.

“Well, I think everyone’s a little put off by this,” Louis knotted his brows. “But then that’s not how you meant, was it?”  

“I dunno,” Zayn shook his head. “I mean, do think there was, like, something?” Zayn looked up at Louis through his lashes, his lower lip trembling slightly.

Louis scooted ever closer, reaching over Harry and pulling Zayn into a sitting position so that he could hug the trembling boy properly. Zayn pulled Louis in close, holding tightly. Louis rubbed small circles on Zayn’s back, trying to calm the boy down.

The two boys probably could have stayed like that a lot longer if Harry hadn’t decided to start squirming and complaining loudly about being ‘trapped between two dicks’.

“The only dick you have permission to be trapped by is mine,” Louis growled in Harry’s ear as he pulled the curly haired on top of him and peppering his face with kisses.

Harry laughed, returning the kisses enthusiastically, while Zayn groaned and rolled over.  

“Aw, Zayn, don’t be mad,” Harry wriggled out of Louis’s grasp and wrapped his entire body around Zayn. “I know you like me,” Harry stage whispered. “And you’re not too bad yourself,” he added with a wink in Louis direction.

“What?!” Louis attempted to pry Harry off of Zayn, but Harry wasn’t done just yet.

Harry, adoring jealous!Louis and wanting Louis to squirm for  a little more, flipped Zayn over and placed one giant, sloppy kiss on Zayn’s mouth.

“Yuck!” Zayn chucked Harry at Louis, whipping his mouth dramatically on the back of his hand. “Don’t fancy yourself, Styles, you’re not that cute.”

Harry gasped, pretending to be horribly offended. “Me? Not _that cute_?! I don’t believe it for a minute,” he scoffed.

“Yeah? Well get used to it, curly!” Zayn stuck his tongue out.

The three boys lay there, all tangled up in sheets and happy thoughts, momentarily forgetting what was going on in the world outside of their little cocoon of giggles. 


	23. Niall is somewhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall wakes up

“…figure out where he is soon! We need to make a move, soon.”

“Oh my god, I just _knew_ this was gonna be such a bad idea!”

“Will you two just shut up?” an exasperated voice sighed. “Look, I called, told them what we wanted. If they’re smart, they’ll give it without a fight and we’ll be on our way.”

Niall tried to open his eyes, only to find himself blindfolded. His head hurt like hell, his throat dry and tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. Thoughts jumbled and head spinning, Niall tried to understand what was going on.

“Give it like an hour or so,” a girl with a strange accent was saying.

“What if they track the call?”

Was that a boy? The voice sounded young, like it hadn’t hit puberty yet.

“Of course they can’t track it,” the strange accented girl soothed. “I made it from a payphone. I also did *67 in case.”

Niall heard things being moved around, chairs scrapping against the floor. How many people were there? Niall listened as hard as he could in his addled state. After a moment he sighed quietly, giving up. It sounded like three, but who knew?

He just hoped and prayed with all his might that the boys, or _someone_ , found him soon. His captors had made no move to harm him yet, but still, he was scared shitless. Niall tried to quietly self-sooth by singing ‘Heart Attack’ in his head, recalling the cheesy dance moves he and Harry had done in the studio when they had first recorded it. How Harry would fall to the ground pretending to be wounded every time Niall went “Ow!”.

Reality came slamming back when someone came up behind him and started to untie the blindfold over his eyes. Niall froze, his fist clenched tightly behind his back. If they kidnapped him, why would they let him see their faces? The blindfold dropped into his lap and Niall looked around, blinking at the sudden light. After a second, his eyes adjusted and he was able to see that there were in fact just three people. Teenagers, really. The girl looked like she might be no older than Niall, 18 or 19 years old. The other two were boys, one looked like he was 16, but the other was probably 8.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK I swear to bejesus I will write more!! I've had writers block and just like I know what I want to write but it wont come out??? Anyway yes I suck I'm sorry  
> feed back appreciated! xx


	24. Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall learns a little about his captors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys are literally the best 1,000+ ilysm  
> i suck at posting regularly and i'm sorry  
> but enjoyyy  
> comments/suggestions welcome xx

Niall’s mind raced, trying to think of something threatening or witty to say, hoping to scare them, but nothing came to mind. The four of them sat in silence for a few beats, all except the girl looking around uncomfortably.

“Well, hi Niall,” the girl beamed. “It’s so nice to meet you!”

Niall was confused. Why was she acting like this was a standard Meet & Greet? When Niall said they had the best fans in the world and that he loved his crazy mofo’s, he certainly did not mean actually _crazy_. Because this girl was nothing but.

“I’m sorry if we were a little rough back there, we were just doing a necessary…well, evil.” She smiled again. All this smiling was freaking him out.

“We’re totally willing to let you go, honestly. We’re just in a tight spot and need some cash.” She shrugged like it was no big deal.  “I was working in the studio and figured if I could just snag you we’d be set.”

Niall dug for words to describe his mixed emotions, but all that he really managed to get out was “Cunt.”

The girl laughed, one that would have been nice to hear if Niall hadn’t wanted to strangle her.

“Oh, I just love hearing your accent! Don’t you, Jason?” She turned to the older boy standing a few away from her.

“Ta-“ he stopped and looked at Niall. “Why are you giving away all this information?” He angrily whispered crossing over to grip the girl by the arm.

She shrugged him, sighing. “It’s no big deal; you won’t tell on us, will you Niall?” She turned and pouted out her lower lip.

“Like hell I won’t,” Niall spit at her.

“Aw, c’mon, play fair! You don’t know half our story.” She sauntered over and sat at Niall’s feet.

“Why should I care about you’re crazy ass story?” Niall’s voice quavered, the disgust showing in his voice.

 “Ouch,” she pouted.

“T just get on with it,” the little boy spoke up.

Niall had almost forgotten he was there. The boy sat in the corner on a chair, legs tucked under him. He looked small, scared, but determined to look neither.

“Alright, Keags, where should I start?”

“From the beginning, duh.” The boy responded.

“Sounds good,” the girl chuckled, which seemed a little out of character. “So, our story, in short but from the beginning. When I was 13 – so almost 5 years ago – our mother left us. Keags was about 1, and Jason was 10. Our father had never really been around, and there was no one to take us in. So, what did we do? Foster homes. We had some okay ones, and some sucky ones.” Her voice became monotone, like she was reciting a story she had told many times, but hated repeating it each time.

“When I turned 16, I took us out of foster care, and got us all jobs doing different things. Some nights we slept at shelters, others in the tube. Then you guys started on the X-Factor, and there was something about you that made me keep my dwindling hope for a better tomorrow.” She looked at Niall from under her lashes, some emotion returning to her voice.

“But now we’ve got truancy officers after us, and we’re planning on moving far away to avoid them. Of course, we don’t have enough money to go anywhere, and this where you come in. I warn you, this was a very last minute and last attempt plan, but this will work.” Her voice had a dangerous edge to it.

“Mhm,” Niall hummed noncommittally.

“Don’t test me Niall James Horan,” she threatened. “You might part of One Direction, boy band extraordinaire, but I get what I want.” She paused before continuing softly, “However hard I have to work to them safe, I do it.”

As fucking crazy as this chick was, there was something about her story (if it was true) that made him feel bad for her. He couldn’t dream of his parents leaving him, let alone leaving him with 2 little siblings to take care of. But who knew if she was telling the truth?

The best thing to do would be to wait till someone found him and get the girl arrested, but part of Niall just wanted to help them on their way… what really was the best choice?

“I’ll let you think this over for a few,” the girl got up and walked over to her brothers. “Just think nice and hard before you decided,” she turned away and faced the wall. “Not like you’ve got much of one anyway,” she continued under her breath.

Niall thought. 


	25. Snuggles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snuggles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp I'm a shit writer and I can't keep up with anything, but hopefully this is OK, and I'll try to update more. Let me know what you think? Not even sure where I'm going with the plot...

Harry liked snuggle puddles, and there was no place he’d rather be than where he was right now in a snuggle puddle with Lou and Zayn. (Of course Niall being here would make it even better because he and Niall were practically made for snuggling, but Harry was 100% not thinking about Niall right now because feels). The three boys dozed off into a blissful half sleep; not quite asleep, but not awake either.

At some point Liam came in, seeming preoccupied. But whatever was on his mind he put aside and joined the pile of bodies and blankets, curled next to Zayn. The boys stayed in that blissful place until dinner time, when Paul drought them all burgers and fries. No one had much of an appetite, but Paul coxed them into taking a few bites.

Harry sat on the bed with Louis slumped on his shoulder, texting his mum. She had wanted to come and pick Harry up, but he told her he wasn’t sure he could leave. She seemed upset, but Harry told her he promised to call her later before he went to bed.

Louis laced his fingers through Harry’s, squeezing gently. Harry rested his head on top of Louis’s, watching Zayn and Liam out of the corner of his eye. What was with those two? One moment they couldn’t be around each other, and the next they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

The two boys in questions were currently sitting at the end of the bed, hands intertwined, whispering quietly to each other.

“We’ll sort them out later,” Louis whispered into Harry’s ear, as if reading his thoughts.

Harry just nodded and turned on his side, head heavy with sleep. He promised himself he'd call Anne in the morning. Louis pulled the covers over them, wrapping his arms around Harry’s waist, his head tucked into Harry’s neck.

“G’night,” Harry calls to Zayn and Liam.

Whether or not they heard him is unclear, but that doesn’t matter. Harry’s already dozing off, relishing the way Louis’s small hands press against his lower stomach, and the way he can feel Louis’s breath on the back of his neck. In that moment, he finds enough peace to drift off to sleep.   


	26. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall wonders whether or not to give money to the crazy bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this might be shit/filler but i wrote so yay! thinking of wrapping this up soon. thoughts?

Niall’s thoughts were running a million miles an hour. It wouldn’t hurt him to give her money (he had more than he really knew what to do with), but did he want to help some girl run away from the authorities? Her plan had lots of holes in it, and they worried Niall.

First off, everyone had to notice that he was missing by now. Secondly, if he could give her the money she wanted, what would he tell the boys? That he had just wondered off with some girl and not returned their calls? Plus, what if the press found out? They’d have an absolute frenzy with it. He could see it now _‘Niall Horan Gives Girl Money To Runaway’._

The three kids were standing in the corner, whispering to each other. Maybe it was possible to trick them…Niall didn’t really like the idea of tricking a little kid, but it was for their safety (it was, wasn’t it?).

“Hey,” Niall spoke up.

“Yes?” All smiles, the girl turned around to address him.

“I’ve made up my mind,” he told her, lips pressed together.

“Sweet!” She clapped her hands. “So, how are we going to work this?”

“Well, I could make a withdrawal, whatever amount you need, and then give it to you. There’s a bank just down the street.” Niall was shaking.

“Hm, we’d have to come with you, though.” The girl look skeptical.

“Right, of course.” Niall nodded. “I’ll give you the money and you can go.”

“What will you tell the press?” The older boy – was his name Jason? -- asked.

“Whatever you want me to, I guess,” Niall shrugged. He hadn’t gotten that far in the plan; he was just kind of winging it.

“The less you say, the better,” Jason reasoned. “Tell them you went off with some girl and got totally wasted. Lost your phone for a little while, didn’t wake up till late in the afternoon.”

 “Okay then, that’ll be the story.” Niall hesitated. “Do you have my phone?”

“Yeah,” the little one kicked Niall’s phone toward him.

“You can take it,” the motioned for him to take it. “No funny texts or calls, but as long as we get the money it doesn’t matter.”

Jason nodded in agreement, pulling on Keags coat for him as he spoke. “Let’s get moving. After 24 hours they can officially involve the police. It’s only been about 14, but still.”

Niall nodded and stood up, stuffing his hands in his pockets to hide that they were shaking. “Let’s go then,” he agreed.

Together they headed out towards the door, and out of the drab white room into the world.


End file.
